The Internal Revenue Service is putting rich taxpayers under the microscope and setting up a safari of audits with complaints that start not with anonymous information from random citizens, but mostly from people in the suspects’ inner circle. Former spouses seeking revenge, former business partners who left a business in a bad way, competitors, and “bitter” customers become the main feeders of the online platform “Citizen Complaints” of ADEA, resulting in thousands of files of great wealth being opened and villas, luxury cars, bank accounts, and offshore companies being put on scrutiny.

Since the platform went live in October 2023 to date, the AADE has received more than 60,000 complaints about tax and customs violations. These cases are not handled casually. Each one is filtered, evaluated, and scored by special three-member committees set up at major audit centres, spearheaded by the Large Taxpayer Control Centre.

Depending on the score a tip gets, it either ends up immediately in the file or turns into an audit order that goes as far as surprise investigations. The “score” starts at 0 for indifferent information and goes up to 4 for cases requiring immediate intervention.

The numbers reveal the size of the “hunt”. In the first five months of 2024 alone, audits were underway on more than 6,000 rich people’s cases, with fines topping €26.4 million. At the same time, 21 individuals faced criminal charges for major tax evasion.

Officials point out that behind the most effective complaints are almost always people who know people and things. It is no coincidence, they say, that former spouses or partners provide evidence that would be difficult for the audit to find otherwise. From an expensive property that was not declared, to offshore money trails and “black” business income, the smallest detail can become the thread that unravels the case.

The process is fully automated. The complaints are sorted according to their content and forwarded to the relevant departments. They are then passed through three additional filters – simple, urgent or extremely urgent – to decide the priority in the audit.

When a case reaches the “immediate interest” category, the real safari begins with auditors going through cross-checks, bank data, and asset declaration checks, even requesting assistance from international authorities to trace money abroad.

The message sent by the tax authority is clear: citizens are becoming the “eyes and ears” of the tax authorities, and their complaints are being fully exploited. Although many speak of a “war of former partners and associates”, the result is that any information that passes the filter can lead to revelations of tax evasion of millions. And as long as the country’s wealthy see their names put on lists of suspects, the auditors’ safari will continue, armed with complaints from those who knew them best.