Customs Office in Dresden and Berlin's Public Prosecutor's Office for Financial Control Release Joint Statement

On June 3, 2025, a significant investigation was launched by the Dresden main customs office and the Berlin public prosecutor. More than forty search warrants were executed across various locations, including Berlin, Saxony (Dresden, Döbeln, Radebeul, and Waldheim), Brandenburg, Bremen, and Dortmund.

The focus of the investigation is six suspects, aged between 25 and 52, who are alleged to have been involved in chain fraud activities. The network is suspected to have invoiced work to a large number of clients in the construction industry, building cleaning, and other trades.

The investigation centres around sham invoices and cover invoices, which are invoices for services that were not actually provided or under-declared, respectively. The goal of this buying and selling of such invoices is to create a black money cycle to avoid social security contributions and taxes.

In addition to the suspects, the search operations also included suspected shell companies, real companies, and clients. The employees of the invoice recipients are suspected to be either not registered or registered with a lower wage for social security, and are paid with black money.

Business documents, data carriers, and mobile phones were secured for evaluation. No arrests were made during the search operations, but two high-performance cars were seized due to existing arrest warrants.

The network is believed to have caused damages of at least 3.5 million euros. An illegal weapon and ammunition were discovered as a chance find.

45 illegal aliens (third-country nationals without the required residence title) were also found during the search operations. The suspects are accused of withholding wages, aiding and abetting this, and violating the Anti-Bribery Act.

Inquiries can be directed to the Main Customs Office Dresden Press Spokesperson Heike Wilsdorf. Contact information for Heike Wilsdorf is as follows: Telephone: 0351-4644-1044, Email: [email protected], Website: www.zoll.de.

This ongoing investigation is part of the efforts to combat tax evasion and fraudulent activities in Germany.

Customs Office in Dresden and Berlin's Public Prosecutor's Office for Financial Control Release Joint Statement