Officers from the State Criminal Police Office of Saxony, in collaboration with the Leipzig Tax Investigation Department and other authorities, conducted searches at 52 premises across eight federal states on Wednesday, according to statements from the Public Prosecutor’s Offices in Leipzig and Chemnitz. These actions are linked to investigations into tax evasion and systematic pawn-selling in the pallet trade.
The Leipzig Public Prosecutor’s Office is focusing its investigation on five Syrian suspects from Leipzig. These individuals are accused of providing incomplete or inaccurate information to the tax authorities concerning various companies in Saxony and other federal states. The resulting estimated tax loss is approximately 1.7 million euros.
Separately, the Chemnitz Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating a 29-year-old Syrian suspect from Leipzig for systematic pawn-selling. He is alleged to have bought and sold pawn goods at his pallet yards in Saxony, Brandenburg, and Saxony-Anhalt, despite knowing that these items originated from criminal activities. The estimated resulting damage exceeds 500,000 euros. As part of these operations, an arrest warrant was executed, and a seizure order totaling around 500,000 euros was realized.
The searches primarily took place in the areas around Dresden, Leipzig, Eastern Saxony, and the Ore Mountains. Additionally, nine premises were searched in Saxony-Anhalt, four in Thuringia, three in Brandenburg, three in North Rhine-Westphalia, and one each in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, and Hesse. Over 300 officers were involved in the operations.