Joint operation by the Tax Agency and the National Police, in collaboration with the European Anti-Fraud Office.

• It is the largest Europe-wide operation to date against greenhouse gas fraud, with more than 27,000 kilos of fluorinated gases having been seized and more than 180,000 kilos of greenhouse gases discovered.
• Five people have been arrested as alleged members of a complex business network that acted in breach of EU regulations, causing the emission of tonnes of gases into the atmosphere without authorisation.
• This criminal group was responsible for irregularly emitting the equivalent of more than 234,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

July 15, 2021.- Tax Agency officials in a joint operation with the National Police, and in collaboration with the European Anti-Fraud Office, have dismantled the most active dedicated to the illegal importation and treatment of fluorinated gases. Five people have been arrested as alleged members of a complex business network dedicated to the irregular import, marketing and distribution of tonnes of gases, which they used for refrigeration.

The organisation carried out all this activity in breach of EU regulations, as it lacked the required quota, causing the emission of tonnes of gases into the atmosphere without authorisation. This quota (the limit of gases an importer can import in a year) is set by the EU for each country, and is established as an environmental protection measure.

The operation is the largest in Europe against greenhouse gas fraud, with the seizure of more than 27,000 kilos of fluorinated gases, which had a market value of more than 250,000 euros. In addition, more than 180,000 kilos were discovered, with a value of more than one million euros.

Start of activity, in Ciudad Real and Madrid

The investigations began after inspections were carried out in two industrial warehouses of companies located in the town of Almagro (Ciudad Real) and in the municipality of Campo Real (Madrid). They were carried out after it was revealed that two containers of fluorinated gas cylinders that had been imported without complying with the regulatory requirements had been unloaded. In total, 2,126 cylinders, equivalent to more than 27,000 kilos of fluorinated gases, were seized.

Likewise, 1,068 empty cylinders were found in the open in an outdoor patio, some of them banned by the European Union, irrespective of the gas they contained. Finally, an undetermined number of bottles were found cut in half, which resulted in the direct emission of waste gas into the atmosphere and posed a serious hazard. In addition to the above, various irregularities of an administrative nature were observed in relation to the handling of containers, labelling and repainting of bottles and waste management, among others.

Distributed in Spain, Germany, France, Portugal and Senegal

After advancing in the investigation, it was determined that the modus operandi of the criminal group involved creating companies in the name of front men who had been importing fluorinated gases from China since 2018, evading customs controls by declaring an incorrect tariff heading in the single administrative documents that did not correspond to the imported goods. Subsequently, once in the Almagro and Campo Real warehouses, the fluorinated gases were distributed by a logistics company to customers in Spain, Germany, France, Portugal and Senegal.

It is estimated that the discovery of the imported goods would amount to more than 15,000 cylinders of fluorinated gases. Documentation is still being analysed to calculate the total amount of imported gases. However, taking into account the minimum volume of the containers, it can be estimated that the amount of imported fluorinated gas is more than 180,000 kilos.

At this point, it is worth noting that most of the imported gas is R134A, which has a global warming potential of 1,300, meaning that an emission of one tonne is equivalent to the emission of 1,300 tonnes of carbon dioxide, contributing to the global warming potential. In summary, this group was allegedly responsible for the emission of more than 234,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent into the atmosphere in breach of EU legislation and therefore without authorisation.

On the other hand, a new inspection was carried out at the commercial establishment of an end customer in Tarragona, and it was discovered that goods that had previously been seized as a precautionary measure had been distributed. In addition, F-gas cylinders were allegedly distributed that did not contain the labelled and invoiced gas, for which the container was tampered with. All of this was carried out for profit, as invoiced bottles are worth six times as much, and evading the associated tax burden.

Finally, a police operation was carried out in which an entry and search was carried out at the tax address of the main company, leading to the arrest of five people as members of a criminal group and clarifying the crimes of smuggling, anti-environmental practices, fraud, serious disobedience and membership of a criminal group.