European prosecutors have uncovered a fraud scheme involving false documents for imports from China, damaging the authorities to the tune of €700m.

An investigation by the European Public Prosecutor's Office has uncovered a complex criminal scheme involving forged documents for imports from China through the port of Piraeus. It resulted in the authorities being defrauded of around €700 million in customs duties and VAT. Searches were carried out in 14 Member States and ten suspects, including customs officers, were arrested. The authorities seized luxury goods, weapons and €5.8m. The criminal networks, mainly run by Chinese nationals, used fake invoices and shell companies to evade taxes.