More than 107 million euros in tax fraud in 2024
The "Amt für Betrugsbekämpfung (ABB)" in Austria announced that it managed to inject more than 107 million euros into the state treasury in 2024 thanks to its fight against tax and social fraud. A total of 195 shell companies were uncovered, and 6,059 cases related to financial violations were closed. More than 26,000 companies were inspected, involving over 53,000 workers, 148 raids were carried out, and 159.6 terabytes of data were seized as evidence.
Finance Minister "Markus Martner Bauer" emphasized that tax evasion is not just a minor offense, but a crime that threatens the foundations of society and harms everyone who pays taxes honestly. He confirmed that the state will continue to intensify its efforts to combat these illegal phenomena both domestically and internationally.
Barbara Eibinger-Miedl, the State Secretary for Finance, pointed out that the development of digital tools has led to new methods of fraud, and that "ABB", although it was established in its current form only in 2021, has managed to deliver remarkable results this year, reflecting the efficiency of the digital approach used in combating tax fraud.
The head of the authority, "Christian Ackler", explained that the year 2024 witnessed widespread fraudulent activity across various sectors, especially construction and services, where cases of illegal employment, tax evasion, insurance fraud, and forgery in construction loans were detected. There was also a focus on tax fraud related to the sale of phones and IT equipment, in addition to restaurants and private security that hid behind forged accounts and unregistered sales.
Among the most prominent cases, 186 illegal gambling machines were seized, and fines amounting to 1.9 million euros were issued. A repeat offender was arrested, sentenced to a fine of 960,000 euros and one year in prison. The sale of fake associations to avoid paying taxes was also uncovered, and those behind it promoted "training courses" to explain how to evade taxes through them.
In Vienna, a computer software distributor was sentenced to a fine of two million euros and two years of suspended prison for selling counterfeit cash register systems for tax evasion purposes. These programs were used in 24 restaurants to disguise revenues as tips. In the construction sector, manipulation of one million and 100 thousand records was uncovered to hide non-taxable sales, resulting in a loss of 325,000 euros. The involved general manager was sentenced to a fine of up to 650,000 euros.
A former construction company manager in western Austria concealed taxes amounting to 3.45 million euros and was convicted of tax evasion and evidence forgery, as investigations revealed records of 'black' cash payments from construction clients. He was sentenced to a fine of 800,000 euros and a partial prison sentence, and fines were imposed on others involved in the crime.
In the security sector, investigations revealed illegal operations in embassies and major parties, and cases showed the existence of fictitious companies operating in a chain system through subsidiaries. €65,000 was seized from amounts obtained through fraud. A non-licensed dog breeding farm run by a family was also discovered, which did not declare profits of €1.42 million. A former municipal employee was investigated for embezzling more than €1.7 million and evading taxes on this amount, and was fined €150,000.
A jewelry store in Vienna attempted to evade tax debts of 35,000 euros by hiding undocumented gold bars and jewelry, and customs police assisted in seizing several kilograms of gold.
At the international level, cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) revealed complex fraud networks managing VAT fraud schemes in the trade of smartphones, electronics, and face masks, amounting to 195 million euros. 130 raids were carried out, and 14 suspects were arrested. The largest VAT fraud operation to date was also uncovered, estimated at 2.9 billion euros, in addition to investigations into Chinese gaming platforms that caused losses of 198 million euros.