EPPO Successfully Cooperates with Guardia di Finanza

In September, the EPPO reported on two cases in which the Office successfully cooperated with the Guardia di Finanza in Italy. In the first case, the Guardia di Finanza of Genoa executed a preventive seizure order of over €200,000, at the request of the EPPO, against a Ligurian company that evaded the payment of border duties by declaring a false origin of imported goods.

The second case concerned a smuggling case involving personal protective equipment during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

At the request of the EPPO, the Guardia di Finanza of Ravenna seized more than €11 million assets and over 3.5 million FFP 2 medical masks. Investigations, which are led by the EPPO, revealed that an Italian company doing business with paramedical products gained unlawful benefits from tax exemptions. It also sold FFP 2 medical masks to hospitals that turned out to be unsuitable and put hospital staff at health risks.