Six individuals, including a former bank manager, received suspended prison sentences ranging from three to four years.
An eleventh defendant was acquitted of all charges.
The court determined that the scheme was orchestrated by a 52-year-old Portuguese man and a 35-year-old French man. It involved purchasing electronic products from European suppliers and reselling them online. The operation utilized carousel companies created solely to improperly benefit from Value Added Tax (VAT) exemptions.
The fraudulent activities took place between 2016 and 2022, resulting in losses totaling approximately 80 million euros, which the ten convicted individuals are required to repay to the state.
Part of the repayment will likely be covered by assets already seized or frozen under the extended confiscation of property measures.
The alleged Portuguese ringleader received an eight-year prison sentence for committing aggravated tax fraud, money laundering, and active corruption in the private sector.
The French mastermind, whose confession and remorse were acknowledged by the judges, was sentenced to seven years in prison for aggravated tax fraud, money laundering, active corruption in the private sector, and two counts of document forgery.
The corruption charge involved the payment of thousands of euros to a bank employee at the time of the crimes, who, according to the court, failed to alert authorities about the suspicious movement of millions of euros.
The four-year sentence handed to the former bank manager for passive corruption in the private sector and money laundering was suspended, considering his social integration and current non-practicing status.
Besides the two masterminds, another individual paid the banker and was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for aggravated tax fraud, money laundering, and active corruption in the private sector.
A five-year prison sentence was imposed on the partner of the only defendant who was acquitted.
The remaining suspended sentences, each three years long, were given to five individuals who assisted in laundering the proceeds from the large-scale fraud.
In total, 11 people and 15 companies were tried. Despite being charged with criminal association by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, none were ultimately convicted of such offenses today.
In delivering the verdict, the presiding judge explained that although the defendants were found to have acted “in concerted efforts,” it was not demonstrated that this resulted in the formation of a structured organization for committing the crimes.
Among the 15 companies charged, one was exonerated, another had the criminal proceedings against it terminated, 11 were penalized with dissolution due to money laundering, and two were required to pay fines of 16,000 euros each for aggravated tax fraud.
Following the court session, the defense lawyer for the defendant sentenced to seven and a half years announced plans to appeal the decision to the Lisbon Court of Appeal.
Initially, the partner of this defendant had also been accused by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, but the case was suspended during the preliminary phase, contingent upon compliance with certain obligations.
