The scam that was worth 100 million

Raphaël Azouz carried out the longest and biggest VAT scam ever recorded in France at the beginning of the 21st century, notably on behalf of Grosbill, a pioneer in e-commerce. The  company was sold to the retailer Auchan (Mulliez group) after the fact, in 2005, and was then heavily fined by the tax authorities following the trial of its main service provider and his  accomplices, conducted by the Créteil Criminal Court in 2010. The judgment was upheld by the Paris Court of Appeal two years later. The northern holding company, owned by the Mulliez  family, was nevertheless ordered to pay a substantial tax adjustment a decade later, after being dismissed by the Court of Appeal in 2021. Throughout his testimony, and then in the manual  published at the end of the book, this seasoned thug, from the “9.3”, tells how he was one of the first designers of the labyrinth of shell companies, called the “Carrousel de TVA”, which was used to divert more than 100 million euros from the coffers of the tax authorities. Several hundred front men, fictitious activities and shell companies, all ephemeral, were thus created. Throughout this narrative, punctuated by a number of exclusive pieces of information, the book lifts the veil on unspeakable practices. These practices are carried out by mass retailers,  wholesalers and bankers, but also by fences and other criminal elements who organize scams, extortion and even robberies to ultimately evade colossal sums of tax. In 2018, the Ministry of the Economy mentioned a shortfall of 14 billion euros for the State every year. Today, we are talking about 152 billion lost in smoke over the same period at the European level. In 2010,  Raphaël Azouz was sentenced to 30 months' imprisonment, to be served under house arrest with an electronic tag, as well as a tax fine of 1.5 million euros and the seizure of most of his assets. Now a reformed digital engineering entrepreneur, he collaborates with the police to identify and thwart 2.0 scam techniques. He also provides his skills and advice on digital threats to SMEs, SMIs and even large French industrial groups. The manual, published at the end of the book, lists the twenty main scams practiced in 2025

Raphaël Azouz, born in 1978, is today a cyber-security consultant and entrepreneur for French companies. In particular, he advises the French Ministry of the Economy and the Ministry of Defense. Thanks to his digital expertise, he has also trained police officers specializing in the fight against cybercrime.

Thierry Niemen, born in 1961 in Paris, is a professional journalist. He worked for But, Midi-Libre and Le Sport, before going freelance. He is also the author of Le Gang des machines à sous (L'Archipel, 2023), after co-writing a first book, J'ai séquestré Kim Kardashian, with one of the five “papys-braqueurs” of the world's number one influencer, in 2021, published by the same publisher.