The Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira) and the Portuguese National Guard (GNR) arrested eight people today and indicted 83 companies on suspicion of tax fraud, criminal association and money laundering in the districts of Lisbon and Leiria, the authorities announced.
In a joint statement, the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (Tax and Customs Authority) and the GNR indicated that this was the balance of the operation “Lines of Torres”, carried out today following a criminal case filed for suspected crimes of tax fraud, criminal association and money laundering.
In the scope of this operation, which took place in the districts of Lisbon and Leiria, 72 search warrants were served, 20 of them at home, involving 31 Tax and Customs Inspectors, two elements of the Forensic Computer Center, and 35 soldiers from the GNR’s Fiscal Action Unit.
The Torres Vedras Department of Investigation and Criminal Action investigated, between 2014 and 2022, the creation and use of several fictitious companies, in a scheme to issue and use false invoicing, followed by requests for VAT refunds, advanced the statement.
The scheme allowed the suspects to obtain refunds of this tax, some paid by the Treasury and others that were suspended upon detection, for a total amount of 3.1 million euros.
As part of the “Lines of Torres” operation 11 vehicles were also seized, suspected to have been purchased with the proceeds of crime.
