Tax Criminal Office Seized Illegal Goods Worth Record €62 mn Last Year

Bratislava, 12 February (TASR) - The Criminal Office of Financial Administration (KUFS) ended 2025 with record results, uncovering nine illegal cigarette production facilities and seizing illegal goods and evidence worth almost €62 million, up by more than 400 percent year-on-year, KUFS stated on Thursday, adding that the total damage uncovered in criminal proceedings in the area of taxes and customs exceeded €771 million. "The year 2025 clearly showed that KUFS is capable of targeting areas in which the greatest damage occurs - organised and sophisticated criminal activity," said Jozef Kiss, the head of Financial Administration (the tax and customs office). In the case of uncovered cigarette production facilities alone, the value of the tobacco seized reached almost €49.5 million, more than four times the amount seized in the previous year. In 2024, Financial Administration seized tobacco and tobacco products worth approximately €12 million. In 2025, KUFS also strengthened its analytical activities in the area of value-added tax (VAT) fraud. Forty-four cases with estimated damages exceeding €20.3 million were referred to the tax authorities, and 21 cases with damages exceeding €36.6 million were referred to investigators from the Police Corps. The amount of damage in criminal proceedings conducted by Financial Administration investigators in the area of tax and customs regulations reached approximately €771.5 million in 2025, a year-on-year increase of approximately 23 percent and an increase of almost 68 percent when compared to 2023. am/df