Biggest container seizure in EU worth at least €250 million
(Luxembourg, 15 September 2025) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Athens (Greece) has brought charges against six individuals, including two customs officers, for their alleged involvement in criminal networks flooding the EU market with goods fraudulently imported from China, while evading custom duties and VAT. Following a coordinated raid at the end of June 2025, the EPPO has also seized 2 435 shipping containers at the port of Piraeus, primarily filled with e-bikes, textiles and footwear. This is the largest seizure of containers to date in the EU.
As previously reported, EPPO’s investigation Calypso targets several criminal networks that manage the entire circuit of goods imported from China into the EU, including distribution across Member States and sales to end customers, while evading customs duties and committing large-scale VAT fraud. These networks - mainly controlled by Chinese nationals - are also involved in money laundering and sending the profits back to China. During a raid end of June 2025 in four countries, ten suspects were arrested.
Following the initial evidence gathered by the Hellenic Customs (AADE/IAPR - Γενική Διεύθυνση Τελωνείων και ΕΦΚ, Ανεξάρτητη Αρχή Δημοσίων Εσόδων) of Piraeus, two customs officers have been charged with repeated false certification, causing unlawful gains and damage to the EU budget of over €871 000, and with abetting customs fraud. In addition, four customs brokers have been charged with repeated customs fraud, also involving over €871 000 in evaded duties and taxes, as well as with inciting false certification. Last Friday, one of the customs brokers was detained, four other defendants remain detained since June.
Further evidence gathering is ongoing.
Fraudulent business model
The first 500 shipping containers were seized during the raid in June. An additional 1 935 that were in transit to the EU were seized upon arrival at the port of Piraeus, bringing the total to 2 435 and making this the largest seizure of containers to date in the EU. These containers, worth an estimated €250 million, are directly linked to the alleged participants of these fraudulent schemes.
The 2 435 seized containers are currently undergoing inspection. So far, only a limited number of containers have been opened by the Greek customs authorities, all revealing similar fraudulent practices of misdeclaration and undervaluation. Opening and analysing the content of these containers represents an unprecedented workload for Piraeus’ customs officials, in addition to a safety risk.
At least 500 containers are filled with e-bikes, 360 of which had not yet been declared to customs, but based on the known modus operandi, it can be assumed that they would have been misdeclared and heavily undervalued, in order to circumvent the payment of anti-dumping duties applicable to imports from China. On average, only 10-15% of the actual number of e-bikes in a container were declared. The damage to the EU budget for these e-bikes alone is conservatively estimated at €25 million in unpaid customs duties and €12.5 million in VAT losses.
It is suspected that the customs brokers under investigation declared the same amount of containers for importation on a monthly basis, for years.
European Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruța Kövesi reacts: “Highly organised criminal networks have been specialising in this kind of fraud for years. They have grown accustomed to cause massive damages to our finances and economies with close to no risk. Investigation Calypso sends these criminals a simple message: the rules of the game have changed, no more safe havens for you! Now we need to turn this spectacular success into systematic work: we need dedicated and specialised police, customs and tax investigators in the whole EPPO zone.”
Higher compliance since raid
The fraudulent mechanism had been ongoing for at least eight years, causing an estimated loss of at least €350 million in customs duties and €450 million in VAT. Since the raid in June, Greek customs authorities have observed higher compliance, with importers at the port of Piraeus declaring similar goods at prices closer to their actual value.
The EPPO’s investigation is supported by the Hellenic Police's Digital Forensics Investigations and Analysis Subdivision (Υποδιεύθυνση Ψηφιακής Εγκληματολογικής Έρευνας και Ανάλυσης της ΔΕΕ) and the Hellenic Internal Affairs Agency of Law Enforcement Bodies (Υπηρεσία Εσωτερικών Υποθέσεων Σωμάτων Ασφαλείας). The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) contributed to the detection through its analytical work and administrative investigations.
All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent courts of law.
The 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.
Strong partnerships
Governor George Pitsilis of the Hellenic Independent Authority for Public Revenue, concludes: “Cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is a key factor in tackling organised financial crime and safeguarding the fiscal revenues of the EU and its Member States, to the benefit of fair competition and our citizens. Revenue - from both duties and VAT on imported goods in Piraeus port - is already showing an increase, reaching 143 million euros in July 2025 compared to 139,9 million euro in July 2024, while the full digitisation of customs document control procedures is increasing transparency and allowing patterns of illegality and fraud to be identified in a timely manner.”
Acting Director-General of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), Ms Salla Saastamoinen, said: "Calypso is yet another example of how administrative and criminal investigations can work hand in hand to protect the EU’s financial interests. OLAF managed to detect a massive customs fraud by combining operational activities with advanced data analysis, digital tools and information exchange. We investigated suspected illegal imports into the EU, analysing trade flows, online sales activities, and marketing linked to customs fraud and cooperated with our EU partners, customs authorities across EU Member States and third countries, paving the way for EPPO’s Calypso criminal case. The first detections transmitted to the EPPO concerned customs fraud on textile products, and the most recent one focused on e-bikes imports. In total, their estimated damages were 280 million in custom duties and over 400 million in VAT evaded. This coordinated approach revealed systemic irregularities that caused hundreds of millions of euros in damage to the EU budget, underlining both the seriousness of the fraud we face and the very real consequences for citizens”
Lieutenant-General Dimitrios Mallios of the Hellenic Police adds: “The Hellenic Police stands firmly committed to safeguarding the public interest and upholding the rule of law. This operation is a clear example of the importance of cross-border cooperation and the effective use of specialised expertise with a view to combating organised crime and economic fraud. The contribution of the Hellenic Police Forensic Science Division, as well as the Internal Affairs Agency of Law Enforcement Bodies in the Ministry of Citizen Protection, which played a decisive role in supporting the investigation of the European Delegated Prosecutor, by conducting, inter alia, specialised digital forensic analyses, the secure handling of critical data and targeted seizures of large amounts of money, demonstrates the operational readiness and professionalism of our personnel. The Hellenic Police will continue to work closely with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and all European institutions to protect the financial interests of the Union and its citizens.”