Millions of euros in cash were seized by a customs office in Greece this summer, as investigations into VAT fraud associated with organized crime of China are intensifying, as revealed by the EU High Prosecutor.

EU chief prosecutor Laura Kovesi told the Financial Times that the confiscated euros came from criminal activities related to the mass introduction of goods in Europe without paying the required duties and taxes.

Last month, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) charged two customs officials and four brokers who are suspected of participating in China’s import plan, such as electric bicycles, without the payment of customs duties and taxes.

The investigation

During investigations conducted in the port of Piraeus in June, police seized 2.7m euros in cash in the office of a customs -a stock that would weigh more than 25 pounds in 100 euros -and another 300,000 euros in his home, Kovessi said.

The banknotes were part of a total amount of € 4.78 million seized in cash and € 5.4 million that pledged bank accounts in Greece, according to Eppo. In total, € 5.8 million was seized in various European countries. Law enforcement authorities also seized real estate and cars, as well as more than 2,400 containers worth about 250m euros.

The largest container seizure

“This is the largest seizure of containers in the EU to date,” Kovessi said. “We are aiming for criminal networks that organize mass imports from China, tax and commit large -scale VAT fraud,” he said.

Eppo estimates that losses from the criminal plan, which extends to 14 European countries currently covered by the investigation, exceed € 800 million on customs duties and VAT.

“This cannot happen without corruption … There were civil servants who helped them, because otherwise this huge plan could not be implemented,” Kovesi noted.

“Organized crime is increasing and becoming stronger by fraud against the EU budget and national budgets,” he added.

VAT fraud has become “the most attractive” criminal activity in the EU, he said, and is often accompanied by duty fraud. “VAT scams represent more than half of the estimated losses in the cases we are investigating,” he said, adding that VAT fraud costs the EU about 50 billion euros a year.

Chinese mafia

Kovesi said Chinese criminal groups were involved in most of the current VAT fraud investigations, including Greece, as they “would like to dominate the entire supply chain … and pay the minimum possible”.

“If you don’t pay any tax, you can sell these products at a lower price than the usual. And in this way you influence the producers based in Europe, “he said.

The investigation began with two smaller cases involving the false statement of electronic bikes in Piraeus and the Italian port of Bari. “They introduced electronic bikes. But they were actually stated as chains or tires, “Kovesi said, adding that this allowed the criminal groups to avoid anti -dumping taxes and make” illegal profits “.

In Greece, the case started with two companies that submitted more than 5,000 incorrect customs statements. Eventually, the two companies proved to be “showcases” and the Chinese owners behind them were also related to the Italian case, he added. “We found that they were the same typologies and the same pattern.”

“They created false companies and no one paid anything,” the European prosecutor said.

He added that the customs authorities did not identify warning signs in the customs statements, although there were “huge warning signs”.

He claimed that customs officials “did not perform these checks because they were sometimes bribed”.

The tip of the iceberg

Three officials with immediate knowledge of customs functions in the port of Piraeus report that the fraud case is “only the tip of the iceberg”, pointing out the lack of automated scanning systems capable of properly controlling incoming missions. About 5.1 million containers arrive in Piraeus every year.

“We work closely with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, because our goal is common and that is to serve the public interest,” said George Pitsilis, commander of the Hellenic Independent Public Revenue Authority, who oversees customs in the port.

The port is owned by a majority of a subsidiary of COSCO, the Chinese state -owned shipping group. Cosco acquired the port for the first time in 2008, during a series of divestments.

Cosco said she could not comment on “an ongoing investigation”, but added that she “continues to respond immediately to the demands of the Greek authorities”.