This performance, dubbed as Operation "Stars Pamplonas"This operation ranks among the two most significant interventions carried out in Spain against VAT fraud in fuel. The network, with a national presence and a highly sophisticated corporate structureHe combined tax engineering, front men, and transferring funds abroad to conceal the illicit origin of the money.
A state network supported by 38 shell companies
According to details provided by the Ministry of Finance, the organization was based on a structure of up to 38 companies, many of them merely instrumental, serving to simulate commercial transactions and hinder the actual tracking of VAT chargedThrough this structure, the network was able to place large volumes of hydrocarbons on the market at very competitive prices thanks to the tax that it subsequently failed to pay.
The macro-plot operated in all the national territoryTaking advantage of the specific characteristics of the fuel market and the margins generated by wholesale distribution, these companies were used as intermediaries that formally invoiced the end customers, but without having a real structure nor the financial capacity to respond to the tax authorities.
The Tax Agency considers this case as one of the two largest hydrocarbon trafficking networks dismantled to date In Spain, this is notable both for the volume of fraud and the complexity of the corporate structure. The investigation describes an organization with a intensive pre-planningprofessional advice and the ability to reconfigure their scheme whenever a route was closed.
A large part of the illegal profits were destined, precisely, for acquire new companies already registered in the Register of Hydrocarbon Extractors (Redef)This allowed the network to keep renewing its wholesale operators and continue exploiting the same fraudulent model in short cycles of time.
In parallel, researchers have observed the use of front men and legal advisors which would have facilitated the operation, from the creation and management of the companies to the channeling of funds abroad with the aim of hinder its traceability.
More than 300 million defrauded through three wholesale operators
The origin of the investigation is located in mid 2024, when the Tax Agency began to analyze the activity of a wholesale operator which had begun selling large quantities of hydrocarbons at the end of 2023. At that time, the regulatory reform that came into force in January 2025, which tightens the obligations of companies registered in the Redef.
Until that legal change came into effect, companies in this registry could submit quarterly VAT returns and they only had to identify their customers and suppliers once a year. The network allegedly took advantage of precisely that framework to declaring a VAT accrued that is much lower than the actual sales volume, while artificially inflating the VAT paid.
The mechanism allowed the organization to charge VAT on final fuel sales and then, not paying it to the Tax Office or even requesting undue refundsThis generated a very high illicit profit margin. The shell companies acted as fictitious intermediaries, fragmenting the real transactions and distributing tax obligations among companies with no assets or effective activity.
Once the Tax Agency removed the first operator from the Redef registry By mid-2024, the activity had not stopped. The fraud continued through a second wholesalerwhich began moving large volumes of hydrocarbons in October of that same year. In just one month, before also being shut down, investigators estimate that this second company He allegedly defrauded around 123 million euros.
The baton was taken by a third operator, who until then had dedicated himself to selling hydrocarbons within a bonded warehouseThat is, before the excise tax and the VAT itself became due. the five days after starting the fraudulent activityThe Agency detected the maneuver and proceeded to remove him from the Redef, thus cutting another key link in the scheme.
Operation "Nonsense Stars": searches, arrests and seized assets
The operational coup took place in the so-called Operation "Stars Pamplonas", in which more than 160 officials from the Tax AgencyThis operation involved Customs Surveillance officers, inspectors, and IT audit specialists. It is one of the largest operations recently carried out against hydrocarbon fraud.
In total, the following were carried out 18 records in twelve locations across seven provincesThe network had broken into properties in Madrid, Majadahonda and Humanes (Madrid), Siero (Asturias), Zaragoza, Castejón del Puente (Huesca), Montoro and Lucena (Córdoba), as well as Marbella, Estepona and Mijas (Málaga) and Vigo (Pontevedra). The network had extended its operations to very diverse areas, from large urban centers to smaller municipalities.
During these searches, the following were seized: dozens of properties, 82 mid-range, high-end and very high-end vehicles y two recreational boats, with a combined market value that, according to initial estimates, is close to 3 million euros in the case of cars and exceeds 63.000 euros in the case of boats.
Agency officials also proceeded to blocking of hundreds of bank accounts and crypto assets deposited on various exchange platformsThe amount frozen in these accounts exceeds 6 millones de euros, in addition to the seizure of a significant volume of cash, with more than 300.000 euros in banknotes of different origins.
The seized assets also include works of art, 64 watches and luxury handbags and near 180 kilos of high economic value metals, including gold, silver, and other special metal ingots. In total, The value of the seized assets far exceeds 21 million euros, according to provisional valuations made by the Tax Agency.
Five arrested, crimes charged, and a legal case opened.
The operation has so far resulted in the arrest of five people considered directly responsible for the plot, among them one of the main leaders of the organizationwho has already been remanded in custody. They are all accused of alleged crimes against the Public Treasury, membership in a criminal organization y Money laundering.
The criminal proceedings They are being directed by the Central Court of Instruction number 4 of the National Court, With the coordination of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's OfficeThis legal avenue is especially relevant given the transnational nature of some of the funds, which were allegedly sent to other countries to avoid detection.
The network would have resorted to a extensive network of front menBoth individuals and legal entities were used to conceal the true ownership of companies and assets. This use of intermediaries allowed the ringleaders to remain in the background, formally removed from the day-to-day management of the companies involved.
Furthermore, the researchers highlight the role of certain consultancies and law firms who allegedly provided support to the organization in setting up companies, designing complex tax structures, and transferring funds abroad. All of this is part of the seized documentation, which is currently undergoing detailed analysis.
The case is expected to remain open for a prolonged period, given the high volume of accounting and financial information intervened and the need to track operations that cover both Spanish territory and international capital movements.
A fraud model based on VAT charged but not paid
The heart of the macro-plot rests on a scheme already known in the field of VAT fraud, but applied here with an unusual level of scale and coordinationThe network structured hydrocarbon sales in such a way that the VAT was passed on to the end customerbut afterwards no money was deposited into the public coffersor it was offset by inflated input VAT through fictitious invoices.
The instrumental companies They played a key role: they issued and received invoices within the network without any real activity commensurate with the declared volumes. This is how it was achieved dilute fiscal responsibilities among several companies with little capital, which could be abandoned or dissolved once their usefulness was exhausted.
At the same time, the accused organization used this structure to transfer part of the profits abroadusing transfers, cryptocurrency transactions, and other financial channels. The objective was clear: break the traceability of money and make it more difficult for the authorities to link the funds to the fraudulent origin in the hydrocarbon sector.
This model generated a strong impact on both tax revenue and competition within the fuel marketBy offering fuel at lower prices thanks to the non-payment of the tax, the scheme could gain market share quickly, putting pressure on operators who did comply with their tax obligations.
The Tax Agency emphasizes that this dynamic allowed the network to concentrate the bulk of the fraud in relatively short periods of effective activity of each operator. Once indications were detected and they were removed from the registry, the organization already had another company ready to continue the same pattern with little downtime.
The case of the VAT fraud macroplot on hydrocarbons It illustrates the extent to which the combination of specific regulations, technological control, and cooperation between specialized units is crucial to detecting and dismantling complex tax evasion schemes that, like this one, manage to operate on a large scale for months before being neutralized.