Tag: Smuggling

Regulatory Watch News

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  School Official Pleads Guilty to 2.9M Scheme to Defraud Veterans’ Education Programs

  US Department of Justice

  April 30, 2025

  A Virginia career services manager for a school offering job training programs to veterans pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to defraud the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) of nearly $3 million. According to court documents, Jeffrey Williams, 37, of Alexandria, used false records to defraud the VA of millions of dollars from approximately July 2022 to May 2024. During that time, the defendant was a career services manager at an educational institution offering veterans educational programs in cyber that could be paid for by the VA. As part of the scheme, Williams created fraudulent employment offer letters, falsified certifications, and forged veterans’ signatures to make it appear as if veterans had attained the meaningful employment needed for the educational institution to receive tuition payments from the government. Williams caused the submission of hundreds of false documents to the VA, claiming approximately $2.9 million in fraudulent tuition payments for at least 189 veterans.

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  OLAF and Polish authorities uncover major VAT import fraud scheme

  OLAF

  April 30, 2025

  Close cooperation between the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and Polish national authorities has led to the uncovering of a sophisticated VAT fraud scheme involving goods imported from China into the European Union. Acting on intelligence and information provided by OLAF, Polish authorities carried out a criminal investigation, resulting in the arrest of four individuals and searches at 50 locations across the country. Working closely with customs and fiscal authorities in Poland, Germany, Czechia, Lithuania, and Latvia, OLAF identified a complex network exploiting the so-called "customs procedure 42"—a mechanism that allows for deferred VAT payments on goods imported into one Member State and transported to another.

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  INTERPOL targets stolen vehicle trafficking in West African police operation

  Interpol

  April 30, 2025

  LYON, France: An international police operation targeting vehicle crime in West Africa has led to the detection of approximately 150 stolen vehicles and the seizure of more than 75 vehicles. Coordinated by INTERPOL and carried out by national law enforcement agencies in 12 West African countries, the operation – codenamed ‘Safe Wheels’ – also initiated 18 new investigations and uncovered the involvement of two organized crime groups. Most of the stolen vehicles detected through INTERPOL’s Stolen Motor Vehicle (SMV) database were trafficked from Canada, while many had also been reported stolen in France, Germany and the Netherlands. INTERPOL’s SMV database allows police in the Organization’s 196 member countries to run a check against a suspicious vehicle and find out instantly whether it has been reported as stolen. In 2024, around 270,000 vehicles were identified as stolen globally through the SMV database.