The Italian authorities have executed precautionary measures worth 2.8 million euros as part of an international operation against tax fraud and money laundering in the luxury car rental sector. luxury car rental sector. The investigation, carried out by the Guardia di Finanza of Trento, has dismantled a criminal scheme with ramifications in Spain and Austria, directly impacting Ibiza.
The operation, launched in October 2022, revealed the existence of a fraudulent network headed by four individuals, who managed companies fictitiously domiciled abroad, but with their real management in Italy. These companies, registered in Spain and Austria, operated in the high-end car rental sector, avoiding the payment of VAT and other tax obligations on Italian territory.
The operation of the plot and its impact on Ibiza
The scheme operated through therental of luxury cars by a company located in the province of Varese to three companies operating in the country but registered abroad. These companies subsequently invoiced the services to clients in Trentino and other Italian regions without applying VAT, using the intra-community exchange regime. In this way, the organization obtained undue tax savings and a competitive advantage in the market. Within the money laundering circuit, it was identified that more than 450,000 euros of the illicit proceeds were transferred to Spain, some of them used for the acquisition of high value properties in Desenzano del Garda (Brescia) and for the capital increase of a company in Lombardy. Part of these operations were detected in Ibiza, where precautionary measures were executed in coordination with local authorities.
Connection to money laundering and luxury trade
In addition to tax fraud and money laundering, the investigation brought to light a case of receiving luxury watches, allegedly involving three people, including two Albanian nationals and an Italian, linked to thecatering sectorand the trade in high-value goods in the province of Bolzano. In total, 11 individuals are being investigated for crimes of tax fraud, money laundering, autoriciclaggio (self-laundering) and receiving, with the warning that their criminal liability can only be confirmed by a final judgment. As part of the operation, authorities have carried out more than 30 searches in various Italian provinces to gather additional evidence about the criminal network.
