Authorities in Dubai have intercepted an Italian national involved in a €40 million ($43.3 million) international tax fraud scheme, as part of a global manhunt involving 15 countries.

The suspect, linked to an organised crime syndicate, was arrested by Dubai Police while he was travelling to the UAE from Japan, according to a statement on Thursday.

The suspect has been a key figure in an organised crime syndicate that conducted a tax fraud scheme through companies based in Spain, Romania and Estonia, with operations based in Italy.

The companies allegedly committed fraud through e-commerce platforms, systematically submitting false value-added tax (VAT) declarations of sales amounting to more than €40 million.

Law enforcement agencies from 15 countries had earlier launched a coordinated global operation codenamed “Operation Pitstop” to track down the suspect.

(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria) seban.scaria@lseg.com