The Romanian antifraud inspectors have discovered a tax evasion network made up of more than 100 companies, which caused a damage of RON 21.4 million (EUR 4.6 million) to the state budget, the money representing value added tax and profit tax.

The companies verified by the anti-fraud inspectors registered fake purchases of various goods or services in their accounting documents, according to a press release from the tax agency ANAF. The companies that were supposed to deliver these goods or services didn’t actually have the capacity of doing so.

The people behind this mechanism, through which they carried out illegal activities, have set up “ghost” companies in their names or in the names of people with precarious financial situation from Romania or the Republic of Moldova. These people accepted to hold the quality of associates or administrators within the companies and open bank accounts in their names without knowledge of the companies’ economic activity, according to ANAF.

Moreover, the people behind this network were taking advantage of the illicit gains either by withdrawing considerable amounts of money from the banks by using grain or timber purchase bills or by withdrawing money directly from ATMs.

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com