Four suspects were arrested in a customs fraud ring involving Chinese exporters at Liege Airport, in eastern Belgium, the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) said on Tuesday.
The investigation, code-named "Silk Road," carried out 10 searches targeting Chinese exporters suspected of having put in place a system to evade value-added tax (VAT) payments on imported goods worth 303 million euros ($328 million) in estimated damages.
EPPO said in a statement it suspected the Chinese exporters of using three Belgian private customs agencies and fake companies in other member states in order to benefit from a VAT import exemption.
