FIOD investigates multimillion-euro soft drink fraud
Four men have been arrested in an investigation into suspected VAT and consumption tax fraud.
The FIOD is investigating a suspected fraud scheme involving the import and sale of non-alcoholic drinks. The estimated tax loss amounts to €8.5 million, but the investigative service stresses that the investigation is ongoing and that the suspects have not been convicted.
On 29 September, the FIOD arrested four men aged 33, 39, 54 and 68 from Enschede, Hengelo and Leeuwarden. They are suspected of being the effective managers of prohibited conduct by several companies. Homes and business premises in Emmeloord, Haaksbergen and Hengelo were searched. The FIOD seized records, digital data carriers and other possible evidence.
According to the investigative service, this concerns a chain of cross-border VAT fraud in the trade in non-alcoholic drinks. The companies are said to have purchased goods from suppliers in other EU countries. The zero rate of VAT can apply to such intra-Community supplies, but the tax due on subsequent sales must be correctly declared and paid.
The FIOD suspects that goods were transported directly from other EU countries to Dutch customers, while invoicing was handled through so-called missing traders. These are companies that charge VAT but allegedly do not pay it to the authorities and then disappear or go bankrupt. The FIOD estimates the tax loss in this case at €8.5 million. The final extent is still being investigated.
In addition to VAT, the FIOD is investigating possible fraud involving the consumption tax on non-alcoholic drinks. Companies that are the first to hold such drinks in the Netherlands may be required to declare and pay the tax to Customs. Who is responsible depends, among other things, on the actual flow of goods and the administrative arrangement.
According to the FIOD, the recent arrests are not an isolated incident. In August and September, suspects were arrested in other investigations connected with the trade in alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. In one case, the suspected tax loss was estimated at more than €2.5 million; in two other files, the provisional figures were more than €120,000 and more than €320,000.
The FIOD warns traders about unusually low prices, unclear trading flows and suppliers who provide little information about their business activities. These signals are not in themselves proof of fraud, but according to the Tax and Customs Administration they may be grounds for checking transactions and business partners more closely. The investigations are being led by the Functioneel Parket and are still fully under way.
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The factual information was checked directly with the FIOD and supplemented with general information from the Tax and Customs Administration. The article clearly distinguishes between suspicions and established facts.
- confirmed The FIOD arrested four men on 29 September. — Stated in the official FIOD statement. source
- confirmed Homes and business premises in Emmeloord, Haaksbergen and Hengelo were searched. — Stated in the official FIOD statement. source
- confirmed The estimated tax loss amounts to €8.5 million. — The FIOD describes this as a provisional estimate and says the exact extent is still being investigated. source
- confirmed A missing trader charges VAT but allegedly does not pay it. — The term and explanation are used by the FIOD and the Tax and Customs Administration. source
Editor's note
The arrests, searches and estimated amounts come from the FIOD statement. Guilt, the exact scheme and the final tax loss have not yet been established.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- de Volkskrant — „fiod belastingdienst”
- NU.nl — „fiod belastingdienst”
- De Telegraaf — „fiod belastingdienst”