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Italian Tax Police Search Amazon’s Milan Headquarters in Expanding Probe

By  |  February 12, 2026
Italian Tax Police Search Amazon’s Milan Headquarters in Expanding Probe

Italian financial police conducted searches at Amazon’s headquarters in Milan on Thursday as part of a fresh tax evasion investigation targeting the U.S. technology giant, according to Reuters. Two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said the operation marks a new development in a broader inquiry into the company’s activities in Italy.

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    Per Reuters, officers from the Guardia di Finanza also searched the homes of seven Amazon managers as well as the offices of auditing firm KPMG. The focus of the investigation is whether Amazon maintained an undisclosed permanent establishment in Italy between 2019 and 2024 and therefore owed additional taxes in the country.

    Milan prosecutors have formally opened an investigation into Amazon EU Sarl, a Luxembourg-based entity, and its director Barbara Scarafia, on suspicion of failing to declare income, according to Reuters. A 13-page search warrant reviewed by Reuters outlines the allegations and investigative steps.

    According to the warrant, authorities believe Amazon had a permanent presence in Italy even prior to August 2024. That month, the company entered into a “co-operative compliance” arrangement with Italy’s tax agency and began paying taxes directly in the country, per Reuters.

    Related: Germany Orders Amazon to Drop Seller Price Controls, Citing Anti-Competitive Conduct

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    Investigators are examining events in 2024 in which Amazon EU Sarl dismissed and subsequently rehired 159 employees from another Amazon entity. Prosecutors suspect that the earlier arrangement may have constituted a permanent establishment in Italy until that point, according to Reuters.

    During Thursday’s searches, tax police reportedly seized computers and other information technology equipment belonging to company managers. The materials include hard drives containing staff emails that are stored after being deleted from Amazon’s internal systems every three months, the sources told Reuters.

    KPMG is not itself under investigation. However, per Reuters, authorities searched its offices because the firm had provided an opinion related to the actions now under scrutiny.

    The latest investigation adds to a series of ongoing legal challenges facing Amazon in Italy. In December, the company reached an agreement with Italy’s tax collection agency to pay 510 million euros to resolve a separate tax dispute, according to Reuters.

    That earlier case involves suspected tax evasion totaling roughly 1.2 billion euros for the years 2019 to 2021. Prosecutors in Milan expect to conclude that probe early this year, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

    In addition, prosecutors are pursuing two other investigations into Amazon’s activities. One concerns alleged tax evasion linked to the period from 2021 to 2024, while another focuses on suspected customs and tax fraud tied to imports from China, according to Reuters.

    Source: Reuters