Redcoon, Media-Saturn’s eCommerce subsidiary, is in the middle of a tax evasion scandal. If found guilty, it will have to pay millions in belated taxes.
VAT merry-go-round
The company is suspected of being part of a VAT merry-go-round, where it sells products in Italy using a middle man and then buys them back in Poland from that same person. This allowed Redcoon to get multiple VAT refunds, while not paying a single penny. If the allegations are proven true, Redcoon will have to pay a sizeable amount of belated taxes to the Italian treasury, German newspaper Der Spiegel writes.
Parent company Metro claims its innocence and says Media-Saturn and Redcoon were also just victims. The German group says a number of people acted on their own accord, which is why a procedure was launched against Redcoon’s former management. One of those board members is already in jail, pending the investigation.
The scandal is also another reason for Erich Kellerhals, Media-Saturn’s co-founder with 22 % of shares, to let himself be heard. He has had multiple clashes with Metro’s board already and now demands an independent party to investigate and clarify the situation.
