MADRID/ATHENS ¨C European Union and Italian authorities are investigating suspected wide-scale tax fraud by Chinese criminal gangs importing goods via Greece¡¯s largest port of Piraeus, a trade gateway between China and Europe, officials said.
¡°The VAT is completely evaded, with enormous damage to the national tax authorities and to the community,¡± Fabio Botto, of the Italian Central Anti-fraud Office¡¯s special investigative unit, said in an interview.
He said the suspected scam at Piraeus, part of China¡¯s vast ¡°Belt and Road¡± infrastructure project, had cost Italy tens of millions of euros in unpaid value-added taxes (VAT), though the total could be far higher as the investigation is not yet over.
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