10/10/2025 (Agence Europe) – On Thursday 9 October, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) announced that it had indicted 36 individuals and five companies in Madrid (Spain) with forming a criminal organisation responsible for VAT fraud worth €24.3 million involving trade in mobile phones and other electronic devices. These indictments follow an investigation known as ‘Marengo Rosso’ which covered eight countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Poland, Slovakia and Spain) in 2023 (https://aeur.eu/f/iwh ). The fraud is alleged to have been based on a fraudulent scheme – involving the use of shell companies in different countries, pretending to market electronic equipment – that exploits EU rules on cross-border transactions between its Member States, which are exempt from value added tax (VAT). For further information: https://aeur.eu/f/iwg (NP)