Tax Authority uncovers potential organized fraud network involving at least €6.7 million
The Tax Authority thinks it may have uncovered an organized fraud network involving an amount of at least €6.7 million, State Secretary Eelco Eerenberg said in a letter to parliament. The tax office has identified “a pattern of income tax returns, requests, and objections containing irregularities” that set off alarm bells, he wrote.
The Tax Authority started looking into the matter after a bank reported a remarkable number of bank accounts opening into which only money from income tax refunds is deposited, and then transferred to another account almost immediately.
Looking into the matter, the Tax Authority noticed an increasing number of income tax applications involving irregularities starting late in 2025, the State Secretary wrote. “In these cases, applications are completed in such a way that an amount is generated that requires payment by the Tax Authority. The Tax Authority sees similarities in the information in these applications,” he said. “This concerns the declaration of wage costs for which the Tax Authority has no information available, or high deductions.”
The bank that alerted the Tax Authority reported that the tax office had paid at least €6.7 million into bank accounts linked to these patterns. “The bank has frozen the accounts in question,” Eerenberg said. “The Tax Authority has determined that the relevant BSNs [citizen registration numbers] on the frozen accounts can be linked to the applications involving irregularities and thus form part of the pattern.” The Tax Authority can reclaim approximately €2.3 million. The remaining €4.4 million is likely lost.
The tax office also received an alert from Logius, the administrator of DigiD. “Municipalities that have a counter where the registration of non-residents (RNI) takes place have reported to Logius that they are seeing a sharp increase in DigiD applications,” Eerenburg wrote. “The increase consists of groups of Bulgarian residents reporting to these municipalities and identifying themselves with physical identification documents.”
“It appears that the individuals applying for a DigiD are doing so in an organized manner,” he said. Several intermediaries make appointments for the applicants at municipal counters and escort them there. “The applicants are reportedly unaware of what applying for a DigiD entails and what they can do with it.”
Logius conducted a sample survey of all DigiD applicants at RNI counters and found that these DigiDs are frequently used to log into the Tax Authority, often from the same IP addresses.
Logius provided the Tax Authority with approximately 400 BSNs associated with their suspicions. The Tax Authority compared these with the suspected income tax returns. “This shows that they largely correspond,” Eerenberg said.
The Cabinet is investigating whether it can stop this type of fraud with stricter rules in its income tax application process. “In addition, the Tax Authority has stopped future payments to the individuals concerned,” Eerenberg said. The Allowance Service is investigating whether this affects any benefits or allowances, he said.
