It was not until the raid of the Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt am Main (Germany) in December 2012 that everyone first started talking about CO2 emission certificate tax evasion. Tax, in an amount exceeding EUR 260m, is said to have been evaded. Six defendants were sentenced to long-term imprisonment following the Frankfurt am Main Regional Court’s first judgment. The Federal Court of Justice rejected the defendants‘ appeals. Further criminal proceedings are pending.
Due to the mandatory adaption of Invoicing Directive 2010/45/EU, all EU member states had to amend their national VAT laws by the end of 2012. In addition, VAT rates are rising again and some other amendments require reporting.
