Businessmen under investigation for VAT fraud face assets freeze

A NUMBER of businessmen in Cork face having their assets frozen as a result of a major investigation by the Criminal Assets Bureau into suspected multi-million euro VAT fraud.

Officers attached to the CAB have begun sifting through volumes of documentation taken from the homes and offices of the businessmen as well as from solicitors and accountancy firms in the city.

“The objective of the investigation is focused on profits generated from VAT fraud by the companies under investigation and their principals and the use of that money to purchase land in Cork,” said an investigating source. In all, around 20 premises in Cork city were raided by the CAB as part of the operation, backed up by local gardai in Anglesea Street.