EU busts €700M Chinese import fraud ring via Piraeus
European prosecutors have uncovered a massive criminal scheme involving the fraudulent import of Chinese goods into Europe via Greece's port of Piraeus.
This operation cost an estimated €700 million in lost customs duties and VAT revenues, according to news.ro, citing Reuters.
The investigation, conducted by the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), covered 14 EU countries and involved raids in Greece, Spain, France, and Bulgaria, the EPPO said in a press release on Thursday.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, the scheme involved multiple criminal networks primarily controlled by Chinese nationals. They managed the import of Chinese goods into the EU, their distribution and sale, as well as money laundering and the repatriation of profits back to China.
Once goods from China reached the EU, primarily through the port of Piraeus, they were either undervalued or misclassified to evade customs duties. They were then approved by corrupt customs agents and sold to companies in other EU states through a system designed to avoid VAT payments, the EPPO explained.
Ten suspects, including two customs officers, were arrested during more than 100 searches carried out on Wednesday at customs offices and other locations, the cited source reported.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
