Costa del Sol
Fuel tax fraud discovered at Vélez Málaga airfield
By m.p.
Mar 27, 2008 - 9:29 PM

106 people and 138 companies are suspected of involvement in a fraud linked to the Leoni Benabú private airfield in Vélez Málaga, where private aircraft were allegedly supplied with fuel destined for commercial planes, in a scam which the Civil Guard say avoided the payment of more than 225,000 € of taxes on aviation fuel.

Dubbed ‘Operation Hélice,’ investigations began in May last year when the Civil Guard detected a possible fraud during an inspection at the aerodrome. They were put down on fuel delivery dockets as commercial flights, but officers determined after checking with Civil Aviation that the flights were in fact private.

Some 670,000 litres of fuel are believed to have been supplied in this way, EFE said.