Why is Slovakia the EU's 'central hub' for VAT fraud?

"There is no way to sugarcoat this: Slovakia has become a major transit point for criminal money flows,"

"An important country for criminals, who invest proceeds from VAT fraud into drug trafficking, human trafficking, weapons trafficking, and vice versa,"

"Once we cross-checked information from all our cases, we realized that over 4,700 suspicious companies connected to 172 of our ongoing VAT fraud investigations have links to Slovakia,"

"In other words, one out of three VAT fraud cases investigated by the EPPO has links to Slovakia!"

Slovakia has become a major transit point for criminal money flows and a central hub for VAT fraud tied to organized crime. Proceeds from VAT fraud are being invested into drug trafficking, human trafficking, weapons trafficking, and other illicit activities. Investigations uncovered a vast ecosystem of fraud targeting both EU spending and EU revenues. Cross-checking case data linked over 4,700 suspicious companies across 172 ongoing VAT fraud investigations to Slovakia, meaning one in three EPPO VAT fraud cases has Slovak links. Nearly €300 million connected to recovery funds is implicated, and VAT fraud costs the EU about €50 billion annually.

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