Romanian police target group of hackers who obtained tax refunds from the UK

Romanian police conducted 13 house searches in Bucharest and the counties of Ilfov, Giurgiu, and Călărași on Thursday, July 10, in a case involving a group of hackers that defrauded the tax system in the United Kingdom.

The suspects allegedly hacked the tax accounts of over a thousand British citizens and obtained fictitious tax refunds of over GBP 1 million (EUR 1.16 million), according to police sources.

The raids are the result of a year-long collaboration between the Romanian Police, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, or EUROJUST, and the British authorities.

Overall, 16 Romanian citizens are suspected of hacking, fraud, and money laundering.

Authorities established that, starting from September 2023 until now, the group hacked authentic accounts of over a thousand British taxpayers in the “Government Gateway” system, changed the data, and created other fraudulent accounts by using social security numbers, to register fake companies and obtain tax refunds, especially related to income tax and other taxes.

The fraudulently requested refunds were paid into bank accounts in the United Kingdom under the control of the investigated persons. Afterwards, the money was transferred to other accounts or withdrawn in cash from ATMs.

(Photo source: Politia Romana on YouTube)