How Long C. Fraud of 25 million euros from the state from the area of activity in Val d’Oise
He left a list of 25 million euros thanks to the alleged fraud “carousel”. Long Si, the leader of VAT fraud, was sentenced to four years in prison by the Criminal Court of Pontoise (Val d’Oise) for fraud by an organized gang. Wednesday’s ruling was passed in the absence of this 45-year-old, who has run countless businesses with the sole aim of obtaining VAT credits. The court, which followed the prosecutor’s requests, also issued against him a ten-year ban on running a company … and an arrest warrant. As for the damage he suffered, he will have to compensate the French state in the amount of 25 million euros.
Long C, 45, ran everything from his office at his company Emisfer, located in the Béthunes business district, in Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône. He realized everything during his tests. This classic fraud takes advantage of a loophole that has never been closed since the creation of the single market in 1993 and will cost Europe 50 billion euros a year. This includes passing fictitious goods – in this case computer and electronic components, as well as HIV testing – between companies established in the European Union and for export and thus establishing VAT credits.
Sometimes component boxes actually existed, but they went around the fraudulent circuit a few times. Opaque system also by several front companies that were like many of the shells blank. “It is an epidemic of public finances, massive damage,” recalled the state attorney during the hearing in January, sparking the scandal of a carbon tax that would have cost 1.6 billion euros.
One million turnover in the first year and 100 million in the second!
The investigation, opened by the National Directorate of Tax Investigation (DNEF) in 2007, has exposed a whole network of companies, starting with Emisfer, which has not employed anyone to buy and resell goods. La société, qui avait à sa tête la sœur de Long C. comme gérante de paille, a eu une progression fulgurante et pour le coup assez douteuse: un million d’euros de chiffre d’affaires la première année, 100 millions d’euros the second. All companies were created for this purpose. I learned on my own, “Long C admitted when the investigators heard him the facts that happened between 2004 and 2009.” In fact, it is still the same merchandise that we provided to each other between companies. Fake invoices? “In any case, the market is fake, so what is right, and what is wrong …” He also confided that he had embarked on a fun round after a three-year prison sentence, one of which was suspended in Brussels due to VAT fraud. “While I didn’t really do it …”
The investigation also discovered interests in a gold mine in Burkina Faso, a restaurant in Miami. Obviously, there are accounts in Switzerland at UBS and Curaçao whose financial services are one of the pillars of the economy in the West Indies, and then in New Zealand that the money passes through. Goods passed through Lithuania, Spain, Belgium, or Luxembourg, and money sometimes came from Hong Kong or from an institution in Panama. To be complete, there were beautiful German cars and fancy watches … the investigation was aware of business meetings in Dubai, another tax haven. But without succeeding in digging further. “We have a gray area: the Dubai network. This part escaped us,” the prosecution admitted during the hearing.
15 to 36 months suspended imprisonment for his partners
The court sentenced nine other defendants on charges of collusion or money laundering, with sentences ranging from 15 months suspended to 36 months suspended. In addition to Virginie N. , The first straw manager, was compensated with a salary of 3,000 euros for doing nothing, cars and watches, the investigation was involved in the complicity of the sister of the train conductor. Marie-Noëlle C., who had difficulty explaining why all UBS account statements were destroyed when the investigation began. There was also Frédéric P., known by Long C. a second-ranked high in high school, who went from a brilliant career in oil to a finance adventure without knowing anything about it, and found himself at the head of a bank. New Zealand, Pacific S&L, and he’s also paid for doing nothing. Previously, the money went through UBS, who decided to cautiously close accounts, and then through First Curaçao International Bank. The court also heard this former attorney, William B. , Who opened a restaurant in Miami and tried to invest in a gold mine in Burkina Faso, with Long C. He had objected to his participation in the hearing.