Nearly 2,500 containers seized in Piraeus over customs fraud - TrasportoEuropa
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The European Public Prosecutor’s Office in Athens has seized 2,435 containers arriving from China at the port of Piraeus as part of Operation Calypso, an investigation into large-scale fraud aimed at evading customs duties and VAT. Customs officers and freight forwarders are also under investigation.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/42433684

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The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (Eppo) in Athens ordered the seizure of 2,435 containers in what has been described as the largest container confiscation ever carried out in the European Union. The goods, shipped from China and consisting largely of e-bikes, textiles and footwear, are valued at a minimum of 250 million euros.

The Calypso investigation is centred on criminal networks accused of managing imports from China to several European countries while circumventing duties and VAT. Six individuals are under investigation, including two Greek customs officers and four freight forwarders. The customs officials are accused of issuing false certifications that caused losses of more than 871,000 euros to the EU budget, while the forwarders are charged with repeated fraud and incitement to false declarations. One of them was arrested recently, while four others had already been detained in June.

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Following the June operation, Greek authorities report signs of improved compliance: similar goods are now declared at values closer to their actual market price, and in July 2025 Piraeus customs revenue reached 143 million euros, compared with 139.9 million in the same month the previous year. The operation was carried out with the involvement of the Eppo, the Hellenic Police, the Greek tax authority, the European Anti-Fraud Office (Olaf) and other enforcement agencies.

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