Lisbon, Oct. 7, 2026 (Lusa) - The Tax Workers' Union said Wednesday that the participation of 350 Tax Authority inspectors in a major European operation targeting alleged tax fraud totalling over €120 million and involving 150 companies shows they are «pillars of tax justice».
«Operations such as Hermes demonstrate that Tax Authority (AT) inspectors are pillars of tax justice and economic legality. Full recognition of the Tax Authority as a criminal police body must be reflected in the inspectorate's career structure, aligning responsibilities, technical requirements and the functional framework», states the Tax Workers' Union (STI) in a statement sent to Lusa.
In this regard, the STI calls for greater recognition of AT inspectors, saying this is a way of «protecting public revenue, fair competition and state funding».
The reaction comes as more than 350 AT inspectors are taking part in a major operation involving around 250 searches across three cases coordinated by the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO).
The overall fraud under investigation is expected to exceed €130 million and involve more than 150 companies, according to the union, which says this demonstrates «the scale and complexity of cross-border economic crime networks».
In response, the STI sets out the fundamental principles of the inspectors' work and insists on functional recognition of the staff.
«The AT's central role as a criminal police body must be reflected in the structure of the inspectorate's career path, saying that there must be alignment with the legal and operational requirements of this role,» states the union.
The STI also points out that in 2025 the AT initiated more than 5,000 criminal investigations, the majority of which were concluded, revealing illicit financial gains totalling over €355 million.
Police authorities are today carrying out a major operation across the country, expected to result in dozens of arrests and around 250 searches, targeting alleged tax fraud exceeding €120 million in the mobile phone trade within the European Union.
A judicial source provided this information to the Lusa news agency, adding that the searches are taking place, in particular, at dozens of companies in Greater Porto and Greater Lisbon, as well as in other parts of the country, as part of inquiries overseen by the European Public Prosecutor's Office, centred on the Porto region.
This investigation centres on an alleged economic crime scheme, known as the «VAT [Value Added Tax] carousel», in which, during the process of buying and selling mobile phones within the European Union, front companies are set up in different EU countries, which eventually disappear from the circuit, thereby making it impossible to collect VAT.
According to the same source, this is one of the largest operations to combat economic crime ever carried out in Portugal, involving hundreds of officers, with searches and arrests also planned outside Portugal.
CNN Portugal first reported this major operation.
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