Italian Prosecutors Seek Trial For Amazon, Four Execs Over Alleged $1.4 Billion Tax Evasion (reuters.com)
(Friday March 13, 2026 @12:00PM (BeauHD)
from the where's-the-money dept.)
- Reference: 0180961746
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/03/12/2252218/italian-prosecutors-seek-trial-for-amazon-four-execs-over-alleged-14-billion-tax-evasion
- Source link: https://www.reuters.com/world/italian-prosecutors-seek-trial-amazon-four-execs-over-alleged-14-bln-tax-evasion-2026-03-12/
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters:
> Milan prosecutors have [1]requested trial for Amazon's European unit and four of its managers over alleged tax evasion worth around $1.38 billion, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday. The move is unprecedented for a case of this kind in Italy, as Amazon [2]agreed in December to pay 527 million euros, including interest, to Italy's Revenue Agency to settle the tax dispute. In all previous cases involving other international groups, once a settlement was reached and payment made, prosecutors closed related criminal investigations, either through plea deals or by dropping the cases. This time, however, Milan prosecutors did not share the tax authority's approach and decided to press ahead with their probe, leading to a request that the suspects be sent to trial.
After December's tax settlement, Amazon said it would "forcefully defend its position on the potential ungrounded criminal case." It added: "Unpredictable regulatory environments, disproportionate penalties, and protracted legal proceedings are increasingly affecting Italy's attractiveness as an investment destination."
Under what's described as a "VAT-avoidance algorithm," prosecutors accuse Amazon and four managers of enabling large-scale VAT evasion on goods sold in Italy between 2019 and 2021, allowing tens of thousands of non-EU marketplace sellers to sell goods in the country without clearly disclosing their identities. They allege that this helped the sellers avoid paying value-added tax. "Under Italian law, an intermediary offering goods for sale in Italy is jointly responsible for unpaid VAT by non-EU sellers operating through its platform," notes Reuters.
[1] https://www.reuters.com/world/italian-prosecutors-seek-trial-amazon-four-execs-over-alleged-14-bln-tax-evasion-2026-03-12/
[2] https://www.reuters.com/technology/amazon-pay-around-500-mln-euros-settle-tax-probe-italy-sources-2025-12-10/
> Milan prosecutors have [1]requested trial for Amazon's European unit and four of its managers over alleged tax evasion worth around $1.38 billion, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday. The move is unprecedented for a case of this kind in Italy, as Amazon [2]agreed in December to pay 527 million euros, including interest, to Italy's Revenue Agency to settle the tax dispute. In all previous cases involving other international groups, once a settlement was reached and payment made, prosecutors closed related criminal investigations, either through plea deals or by dropping the cases. This time, however, Milan prosecutors did not share the tax authority's approach and decided to press ahead with their probe, leading to a request that the suspects be sent to trial.
After December's tax settlement, Amazon said it would "forcefully defend its position on the potential ungrounded criminal case." It added: "Unpredictable regulatory environments, disproportionate penalties, and protracted legal proceedings are increasingly affecting Italy's attractiveness as an investment destination."
Under what's described as a "VAT-avoidance algorithm," prosecutors accuse Amazon and four managers of enabling large-scale VAT evasion on goods sold in Italy between 2019 and 2021, allowing tens of thousands of non-EU marketplace sellers to sell goods in the country without clearly disclosing their identities. They allege that this helped the sellers avoid paying value-added tax. "Under Italian law, an intermediary offering goods for sale in Italy is jointly responsible for unpaid VAT by non-EU sellers operating through its platform," notes Reuters.
[1] https://www.reuters.com/world/italian-prosecutors-seek-trial-amazon-four-execs-over-alleged-14-bln-tax-evasion-2026-03-12/
[2] https://www.reuters.com/technology/amazon-pay-around-500-mln-euros-settle-tax-probe-italy-sources-2025-12-10/
Investment? (Score:5, Insightful)
Whatever the merits of this case this has nothing to do with investment and Amazons comment sounds like an amateurish veiled threat. Though if all they have to offer is minimum wage warehouse jobs and water and electricity sucking data centres I doubt anyone will care.
The law is the law whatever they think of it. If you want to operate in a country obey it or get out and just because the monetary side may have been settled the criminal side has not. Tax evasion is a crime in all countries, end of.
Re: (Score:1, Interesting)
Under Italian law, an intermediary offering goods for sale in Italy is jointly responsible for unpaid VAT by non-EU sellers operating through its platform," notes Reuters
Amazon can't bother to keep track of all the shady third party sellers or even went out of their way to obfuscate their locations. Will Bezos have to install less gold on his multi hundred million dollar yacht? #pray4amazon
Re: (Score:2)
> Under Italian law, an intermediary offering goods for sale in Italy is jointly responsible for unpaid VAT by non-EU sellers operating through its platform," notes Reuters
> Amazon can't bother to keep track of all the shady third party sellers or even went out of their way to obfuscate their locations. Will Bezos have to install less gold on his multi hundred million dollar yacht? #pray4amazon
I love you.