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(Luxembourg, 12 July 2024) – At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Milan (Italy), the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) have executed a freezing order against a company suspected of a major customs fraud involving the importation of electric bicycles (e-bikes) from China, with an estimated damage of over €9.8 million.
The EPPO investigation was opened following a report by the Guardia di Finanza in Monza, outlining suspicions that customs violations had been carried out by an Italian company since 2019.
It is alleged that the company imported complete e-bikes of Chinese origin into the EU, but in unassembled form (in parts) and in separate shipments, in order to avoid the payment of the extra customs duties introduced by the EU’s 2019 new anti-dumping regulation. It is understood that the company thereby evaded, between 2019 and 2022, the payment of anti-dumping and customs duties and VAT amounting to over €9.8 million.
On 20 October 2023, the EPPO office in Milan filed a request for the freezing of €5 039 260.08 against the suspected company. This figure is the amount in customs duties and relevant VAT understood to have gone unpaid since 30 July 2020, when company liability for such offences was introduced into Italian law. On 8 July 2024, the judge for preliminary investigations of the Court of the Milan accepted the request and issued a freezing order that is currently being executed.
All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent Italian courts of law.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU.