The investigation started with money, but ended up uncovering an arsenal. A criminal organization dedicated to Massive VAT fraud in the hydrocarbons sector — one of the largest detected so far in Spain — hid in a house in Ávila a clandestine workshop of firearms, war munitions and an armored vehicle for military use equipped with a large caliber machine gun.
The operation, carried out jointly by the National Police and the Tax Agency, resulted in the arrest of eight people and ten people indicted, accused of money laundering, crimes against the Public Treasury, membership in a criminal organization and illegal possession of weapons. The fraud detected currently amounts to nearly 300 million euros between 2023 and 2024.
During the nine searches carried out – seven homes in Madrid and Ávila and two offices in the capital – agents seized more than 130,000 euros in cash, 167 luxury watches valued at around two million euros and financial assets worth more than 14 million.
In addition, bank accounts containing more than 12.5 million euros were blocked, more than 3.6 million liters of fuel, 60 high-end vehicles and 46 properties valued at more than five million were immobilized. But it was one of the searches, in a house in Ávila, which changed the dimension of the case.
A hidden arsenal
At this address, investigators located what they define as an authentic firearms “sweatshop”. There, 44 weapons were seized, some modified, with the serial number erased and equipped with silencers. Alongside them, war munitions and an armored vehicle of a military nature, prepared with a large-caliber machine gun installed on top.
Police sources emphasize that this is not a common finding in tax fraud investigations. The level of weaponry, the operational state of the vehicle and the modification of the weapons suggest a capacity for violence much greater than that usually found in economic crime networks; which reinforces the qualification of criminal organization.
One of the network’s leaders is under direct investigation for illegal possession of weapons, in addition to economic crimes.
Part of the arsenal seized during the operation.
Gasoline below real cost
The investigation began in early 2023, when agents of THE UDEF Central detected significant suspicious economic movements linked to companies dedicated to hydrocarbon trading.
The first checks revealed that two oil operators did not systematically respect their tax obligations, notably non-payment of VAT.
After analyzing the operation, investigators concluded that behind the two companies was the same criminal organization, capable of selling large volumes of gasoline and diesel at abnormally low prices. So low that in some cases they sold below the acquisition price.
The key was tax evasion. By not entering the output VAT to the tax authorities, the network obtained an artificial margin which allowed it to offer fuel to intermediary companies and service stations at prices impossible for any operator respecting the law.
To this fraud was added another non-compliance: the regulations on biofuels. The organization evaded the mandatory compensation payment for non-use of biofuel, resulting in an additional non-payment of almost 40 million euros.
Own deposits
The network also had its own tax warehouse to store fuel, an unusual infrastructure in the sector, where it is common to subcontract this service. This direct control of the product has strengthened its autonomy and its ability to operate sustainably.
The profits made from the first oil operator allowed the organization to create a second and, later, to attempt to launch a third. The latter was removed from the Register of Tax Deposit Extractors (REDEF), which prevented it from continuing to operate and limited the economic damage.
The group structure was hierarchical. At the top, two leading partners. Below, the financial managers who controlled the accounts and accounting. At the bottom are the workers, many of whom have no connection to the fraud.
The armed armored vehicle, similar to those used by the Army, intervened during the operation.
Millionaire figureheads
Outside the formal structure, but essential to the functioning of the fraud, were the straw men. People have chosen to present themselves as tax agents for oil operators and to assume, on paper, debts to the Treasury. One of them received around two million euros for lending his identity..
When investigators managed to identify all the members of the network, the police system was activated, which culminated on December 2 with simultaneous searches and arrests. The National Police considers that This operation marks a turning point in the fight against fraud in the hydrocarbon sector.
Not only because of the amount defrauded – almost 300 million euros in just two years – but also because of the combination of economic crime, massive money laundering and a level of weaponry more typical of violent criminal organizations than tax schemes.
The discovery of the clandestine workshop and the armed armored vehicle introduces a new dimension. That of a network which not only defrauded the State, but was ready to protect its interests with means of war.
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