Akhir 25, 1432 H/March 30, 2011, SPA-- German prosecutors said on Wednesday they have charged six individuals implicated in a value-added (VAT) tax fraud scheme in the European carbon market, Reuters reported. The six suspects, aged 27 to 65, are accused of having conspired from September 2009 to April 2010 to evade 230 million euros ($323.5 million) in VAT, Frankfurt-based lead prosecutor Guenter Wittig said in a statement. A further 170 suspects, seven of which are Deutsche Bank employees, are still under investigation and could be charged later, according to the statement, which did not name any of those involved. Deutsche Bank declined to comment. The prosecutors said the total damage caused by the racket amounted to 850 million euros, 100 million euros of which authorities have managed to secure. In April last year, Germany and Britain arrested 25 people and investigated others in connection with a wider investigation into suspected tax fraud in carbon dioxide permit trading. -- SPA
