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18 detained in Polish probe into int’l tax evasion scheme

12.02.2020 12:00
Poland’s Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) says it has detained 18 suspects in a crackdown on an organised international criminal gang that spirited billions out of the country in an apparent tax evasion scheme.
Officers with Polands Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA)
Officers with Poland's Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA)Image: cba.gov.pl

The group is believed to have transferred at least PLN 8.6 billion (EUR 2 billion, USD 2.2 billion) abroad via a “national payment institution” to the detriment of state coffers, the bureau said on its website on Wednesday.

It added that the group operated in the country from 2016 to 2019 evading taxes owed to the Polish internal revenue service, including value-added tax (VAT) and corporate income tax (CIT).

The group comprised 26 companies run by Polish, Vietnamese, Chinese and Ukrainian citizens who did business mainly in the Wólka Kosowska area near Warsaw, according to the cba.gov.pl website.

The agency said the detentions were made after several months of work by investigators and prosecutors and following searches in more than 60 locations.

The crackdown involved nearly 300 officers from the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau, aided by border guards and military police, the website said.

Among those detained is the CEO of the “payment institution” and five people managing the company, the agency added.

(gs/pk)

Source: cba.gov.pl