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Seven Arrested in Massive EU Fraud Scheme Selling Used Phones as New

occrp.org · 3h · first reportShare

An international law enforcement operation led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) resulted in the arrests of seven people, including two alleged ringleaders, to dismantle a criminal network suspected of selling more than one million used mobile phones as new, the EPPO announced Tuesday. The cross-border crackdown, code-named "Troja," involved more than 1,700 officers conducting over 160 searches across 19 countries. Authorities estimate the scheme defrauded European Union consumers of at least 300 million euros ($340 million) and caused 30 million euros ($34 million) in value-added tax (VAT) losses. According to prosecutors, the syndicate assembled phones from used components in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates. The devices were then shipped through the Netherlands to warehouses in Germany, where they were cleaned, packaged, and sold on online marketplaces to unsuspecting customers across the EU as brand-new products. To maximize illicit profits, the group allegedl