Major investigation into one million counterfeit phones
Investigators suspect an international network of selling assembled devices and large-scale VAT fraud.
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German and European law-enforcement agencies have investigated an international network that may have sold around one million counterfeit mobile phones. The devices were allegedly offered to consumers through online platforms as genuine branded products.
According to an investigation by NDR and WDR, raids took place on Tuesday at around 160 locations in nineteen countries. The authorities suspect several companies and individuals of reassembling used mobile-phone components and packaging them as new devices.
According to German reports, the phones were sold mainly through online platforms to customers in Germany. The devices were difficult to distinguish externally from original models. The investigators therefore speak of a possible total of around one million devices sold, but that figure is not yet an established fact.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office previously reported an investigation in September into suspected VAT fraud involving the online sale of mobile phones. Four suspects were arrested in Germany and Bulgaria in that case. Assets worth around €20.5 million were frozen; the suspected tax loss was estimated at €15.7 million.
The public sources do not fully describe how the various investigations relate to one another. German reports mention seven arrests and an operation in nineteen countries, while the European press release refers to four arrests in an earlier reported phase. It is therefore uncertain whether all the figures mentioned concern the same part of the network.
For consumers, the risk lies not only in a potentially incorrect price. Counterfeit or assembled devices may be less reliable, lack a valid manufacturer’s warranty or fail to meet European safety requirements. Buyers may also find it difficult to establish afterwards where a device originally came from.
The suspicions are directed at the network and the companies involved; a court must still establish whether criminal offences were committed. The law-enforcement agencies have not yet published a definitive tally of the number of devices sold, the platforms involved or the ultimate damage.
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The sources confirm an international investigation into phone fraud and VAT evasion. The text explicitly distinguishes between confirmed amounts and figures concerning devices and arrests that have not yet been fully explained.
- confirmed The European Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating suspected VAT fraud involving mobile phones sold online. — Stated in EPPO’s official press release. source
- confirmed EPPO reported four arrests and the freezing of around €20.5 million. — Mentioned in the official report of 17 September. source
- confirmed German media reported raids at approximately 160 locations in nineteen countries. — Reported by NDR and WDR via Tagesschau. source
- uncertain Around one million devices may have been sold through online platforms. — This is an estimate from investigative journalism and not yet a definitive law-enforcement finding. source
Editor's note
European prosecution information confirms a VAT-fraud investigation. The figure of around one million devices and the scale of the international operation come from German investigative journalism; the different arrest figures cannot be fully linked.Sources
- Germany: Searches and arrests in probe into suspected €15.7 million VAT fraud involving mobile phone sales — European Public Prosecutor’s Office
- Großrazzia - Offenbar rund eine Million gefälschte Handys im Umlauf — Tagesschau
More on this in Dutch media
- De Telegraaf — „smartphones fraude”
- de Volkskrant — „smartphones fraude”
- NOS — „smartphones fraude”