The indictment followed an investigation codenamed ‘Admiral’ and is the first trial in the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) with the most complex VAT fraud investigation to date.

The case accounts for estimated losses in Portugal totalling 80 million euros, but the estimated losses to the European Union (EU) and the national budgets of the EU countries affected by the Admiral fraud could amount to 2.9 billion euros.

The defendants - nine Portuguese and two French - are accused of creating and operating a criminal organisation dedicated to the sale of electronic goods on the European market, evading payment of VAT. The charges include several offences of qualified tax fraud, money laundering, active and passive corruption in the private sector and document forgery.

The alleged events took place between 2016 and November 2022.

The case against one of the defendants has since been suspended, subject to the fulfilment of certain obligations, and will continue under separate terms.

Three of the defendants are in pre-trial detention and another is under house arrest. Also charged are 14 companies registered in Portugal and one in Cyprus.

The court has already scheduled 17 trial hearings until 16 January 2025 and thereafter there will be sessions every Monday and Thursday, if necessary, until the end of the trial.

According to the EPPO, the defendants could face prison sentences of up to eight years for each of the offences of qualified tax fraud, as well as money laundering, active and passive corruption in the private sector and document forgery. The accused companies are subject to fines or dissolution.

The European Public Prosecutor's Office is an independent body of the European Union. It is responsible for prosecuting, investigating and judging crimes that harm the EU's financial interests.