Eurojust has supported the Italian and German authorities in dismantling an elaborate fraud scheme involving the trade in energy efficiency certificates. The perpetrators deprived the Italian authorities of at least EUR 27 million in illegally obtained certificates and are alleged to have laundered over EUR 14 million of the proceedings via bank accounts in various European countries.
During a joint action day, 20 suspects were arrested in Italy, Germany and Switzerland and an estimated EUR 41 million worth of real estate, vehicles and financial assets were seized, including cash. Eurojust assisted by setting up and funding a joint investigation team (JIT) into the case. Europol provided analytical assistance and deployed officers on the ground.
The use of so-called TEE energy efficiency or ‘white’ certificates are obligatory in Italy since 2005 for electricity and gas suppliers with over 50 000 customers, as a means to promote energy saving. The certificates can be traded on a specific market for suppliers, after approval of energy-saving projects by the national Italian regulators GSE and GME. The arrested persons are suspected of obtaining certificates under false pretences and producing fake projects and invoices, between 2016 and 2020.
Suspicions arose in 2019 after the authorities in Germany noticed large sums of money being transferred from Italy into German accounts. Shortly afterwards, large amounts of money were being withdrawn in cash and apparently transferred back to Italy. This scheme was set up to launder the profits, and accounts in various other European countries were also used for this purpose. The German authorities notified their Italian counterparts, with investigations being opened by the Guardia di Finanza in Aosta and Turin.
At the request of the Italian and German authorities, Eurojust not only assisted in setting up the JIT but also provided support with the cross-border judicial cooperation and execution of European Investigation Orders. The operation was carried out on the ground by:
- Italy: Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO) of Turin; Guardia di Finanza of Aosta
- Germany: PPO Duisburg (Staatsanwaltschaft Duisburg); Duisburg Police Headquarters (Polizeipräsidium Duisburg); Tax Investigation Departments of Bochum and Cottbus (Steuerfahndungen Bochum, Cottbus); Düsseldorf Tax Investigation Department at the Criminal Office of North Rhine-Westphalia (Steuerfahndung Düsseldorf beim Landeskriminalamt Nordrhein-Westfalen)
- Switzerland: PPO Lucerne; Police Lucerne (Kantonalpolizei Luzern)
Eurojust is an agency of the European Union