VAT Fraud, False Invoicing, and the Evolution of Associated Money Laundering Dynamics

Abstract

VAT fraud, false invoicing, and money laundering reveal increasingly close connections with the activities of 
organised crime, presenting complex operational challenges in identifying the intersections between illicit 
economic-financial phenomena and criminal structures. Within this context, money laundering evolves through 
progressively sophisticated methodologies, giving rise to new paradigms that disrupt the “classic” archetype 
of the three-stage model: “placement-layering-integration”. Can the traditional model still be considered valid, 
or does it require reformulation in light of the increasingly innovative practices adopted by criminal 
organisations? 
This study, starting from a contextual analysis of the operations of criminal organisations in the globalised 
economy, aims to answer this question by developing, with the aid of artificial intelligence tools, a specific 
mathematical function capable of outlining the main trends in money laundering and exploring the challenges 
posed by a phenomenon as pervasive as it is protean. 
The connection between false invoicing, money laundering, and organised crime emerges as a pivotal issue 
in the fight against criminal organisations. These entities exploit such practices not only to finance their illicit 
activities but also to infiltrate the legal economy, undermining the foundations of legality and social equity.