by Lubomir Tassev
Authorities in Romania have conducted more than a dozen raids against people suspected of hiding income from cryptocurrency operations. The searches took place in late 2022 following an earlier investigation which established that crypto traders had failed to report digital assets exceeding $50 million in value.
Police and tax officials in Romania have carried out 17 raids in the fall of last year as part of an investigation against persons accused of evading taxation by concealing profits from transactions with cryptocurrencies, local media revealed.
Addresses were searched in the capital Bucharest as well as the counties of Dâmbovița, Ilfov and Olt, according to Cristian Roman, partner at the Iordăchescu & Asociații law firm, who shared the information with Romania Journal.
The lawyer was referring to data provided by the Romanian police. Law enforcement authorities in the EU country allege that, between 2019 and 2022, 19 targeted individuals formed or joined an organized crime group for the purpose of tax evasion.
The taxable income, which they tried to hide, was obtained from transactions with digital currencies, investigators claim. According to preliminary estimates, their activities have resulted in losses for the state budget totalling 3 million Romanian lei (almost $650,000).
The operation was conducted after the tax fraud combatting unit of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) launched a probe last summer into proceeds from crypto trading received between 2016 and 2021 through various platforms such as Binance, Kucoin, Maiar, Bitmart, and the now-bankrupt FTX.
At the time, tax inspectors identified revenues of over €131 million obtained by 63 Romanian citizens. They were also able to establish that the persons had failed to report over €48 million worth of digital assets on their tax returns.
ANAF explained that its actions were part of a push to increase taxation and compliance among taxpayers. According to amendments to the Romanian Tax Code passed by the parliament in 2019, income resulting from the transfer of virtual currencies is taxable at a 10% rate on capital gains exceeding an annual threshold of 600 lei (approx. $130).
Do you think Romanian tax authorities will continue with more checks on crypto traders and taxpayers? Tell us in the comments section below.
Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’s quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.
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