Romanian authorities have conducted more than a dozen raids against people suspected of hiding income from cryptocurrency businesses. The searches were conducted in late 2022 in response to an earlier investigation that established that crypto traders failed to report digital assets in excess of $50 million.
Romanian law enforcement and tax authorities are pursuing crypto taxpayers
Romanian police and tax authorities conducted 17 raids last fall as part of an investigation into individuals who allegedly evaded taxes by hiding profits from trading in cryptocurrencies, local media revealed.
Iordăchescu &law firm partner Cristian Roman said that addresses were searched in Dâmbovița, Ilfov, and Olt counties, as well as in the capital Bucharest. According to Cristian Roman, a partner at the law firm Iordăchescu Asociații, who provided the information to the Romanian Journal.
The lawyer referred to data provided by the Romanian police, in which law enforcement authorities in EU countries claimed that between 2019 and 2022, the 19 targeted individuals formed or participated in organized criminal groups for the purpose of tax evasion.
The taxable income they tried to hide, investigators claim, came from transactions with digital currencies. According to preliminary estimates, their activities have resulted in a total loss to the state budget of 3 million Romanian Lei (approximately $650,000).
Tax authorities move to improve compliance of crypto taxpayers
The operation comes after the Anti-Tax Fraud Unit of the National Fiscal Control Agency (ANAF) launched an investigation last summer into revenues from crypto transactions received between 2016 and 2021 through various platforms, including Binance, Kucoin, Maiar, Bitmart, and the now bankrupt FTX. The survey was conducted after it was launched.
At the time, tax inspectors identified over €131 million in income earned by 63 Romanian citizens. They were also able to establish that these people had not reported the value of more than €48 million in digital assets on their tax returns.
ANAF explained that its actions are part of a push to improve taxpayer taxation and compliance: according to the amendments to the Romanian Tax Code passed by the National Assembly in 2019, income attributable to the transfer of virtual currencies exceeds the 600 lei (about $130) annual threshold The tax is levied at a rate of 10% on capital gains.
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