Dive summary:

• The European Police Office, Europool, has arrested 14 suspects involved in a crime ring responsible for massive VAT (value added tax) fraud with scrap metal in several EU countries.
• The organized criminal group had been trading scrap metal between Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, using “missing traders” to illegally amass millions of Euros.
• The suspects are responsible for fraudulently receiving around €17.2 million ($22.8 million) in Slovakia and €2.7 million ($3.6 million) in Czech Republic.

From the article:

On Jan. 7, 2013, Hungarian law enforcement officers, together with Czech and Slovak investigators and supported by an agent from Europol, based in The Hague, Netherlands, arrested 14 suspects and seized €4.8 million ($6.4 million) in cash, as well as luxury motor vehicles and real estate.

The organized criminal group had allegedly been trading scrap metal between Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, using “missing traders” in the chain to illegally accrue considerable amounts of VAT funds from several EU member states’ authorities. ...