Authorities have uncovered a crime ring that has mass produced fake invoices since 2005 and sold them mainly to business clients, Gazdasági Rádió reported, citing Jenő Sipos, spokesman for the customs agency VPOP.

The scam involved roughly 150 businesses, who bought the invoices in order to reclaim taxes they had never paid, amounting to a total of Ft 1.2 billion.

Authorities searched 26 locations and collected a variety of evidence including stamps, receipts, computer parts, nearly Ft 8 million in cash and consumer goods. Several bank accounts were also blocked during the operation.

The VPOP said it has filed legal proceedings against 11 people in connection with the case over charges including fraud, tax evasion and forgery, and five of them have been taken into custody.