According to the Criminal Investigation Service (SIC), the administrator for the VAT, strategic planning and information technology departments, the director of registration and collection and the head of the VAT refund department were arrested on Thursday.
They are accused of the crimes of illegal access to an information system, computer fraud, criminal association and embezzlement, “substantiated by strong evidence of their involvement in the fraudulent scheme of offset payments, in relation to VAT refunds”, states the SIC in a press release.
The SIC highlights that the scheme was set up by tax officials from different areas and functions, who took advantage of these privileges to carry out “several fraudulent deals”.
The detainees will be brought before the Public Prosecutor's Office, while other proceedings continue, adds the SIC.
The investigation into these irregularities had previously led to the arrest of two officials, with other suspects having fled to Portugal and other countries.
