– Lusa
“The modus operandi consisted of using a fictitious billing circuit by simulating purchases and sales that did not correspond to actual transactions in goods,” PJ explained.
The Judiciary Police (PJ) and the Tax Authority conducted Wednesday 40 home and non-home searches in the Central area on suspicions of qualified tax fraud and money laundering involving companies in the ornamental stone market.
The PJ said this Thursday in a statement that the searches, within the scope of Operation Stonehenge, were carried out through the National Anti-Corruption Unit, with support from the Board of the Center and Departments of Leiria and Aveiro, as well as the Finance Department of Lisbon (DFL).
The criminal case, which gave rise to the PJ searches, takes place at the Lisbon Department of Criminal Investigation and Prosecution.
“The modus operandi consisted of using a fictitious billing circuit by simulating purchases and sales that did not correspond to actual transactions of goods, exceeding 10 million euros,” explains PJ.
According to PJ, the activity was carried out by several companies operating in the market of ornamental stones in the central area of the country, using “iron foreheads”, and allowed undue VAT refunds exceeding 1.8 millions of euros. The money was, according to PJ, channeled later to the acquisition of real estate, registered in the names of third parties.
