European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) launches Activity Report 2007
The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) today (22/07/2008) launched its 2007 Activity Report (PDF, 1.5MB) 
and Press Release . Revenue's Customs Service works closely with OLAF in tackling fraud and evasion affecting the Community's Own Resources. The legal basis for this co-operation is Council Regulation 515/97. The Own Resource areas involved include ensuring that Customs duties and Anti-Dumping duties are paid in full on goods imported from outside the European Union. It also involves international operations tackling cigarette smuggling from 3rd countries.
During 2007, 32 communications were received from OLAF highlighting various frauds and irregularities detected in other Member States and requesting the Irish authorities to investigate any similar importations into Ireland. One of these cases involved the circumvention of anti-dumping duty on bed linen of Pakistani origin, being imported from the United Arab Emirates into several Member States. The resulting OLAF investigation, in which Ireland participated together with France, Netherlands and Sweden, resulted in the recovery of €670,000 in duties from two Irish companies. In another EU wide operation co-ordinated by OLAF entitled 'Operation WASABI', checks were carried out on vegetables imported from China that resulted in the detection of a significant underpayment of duty in excess of €1million on garlic. This investigation is continuing. Ireland also reported another case involving the evasion of Anti-Dumping duty on pipe fittings from India that resulted in an OLAF mission to India in 2008.
In the case of cigarette smuggling, an OLAF task group continues to co-ordinate investigations involving large scale smuggling from various 3rd countries. One of these ongoing investigations concerns cigarette smuggling from the USA into the European Union. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Service and several Member States including Ireland are co-operating in this investigation. In addition, OLAF is co-ordinating investigations in Singapore following the recent seizure by Irish Customs of 26million cigarettes that were shipped from Singapore via Le Havre to Dublin. This investigation is ongoing.
[Ends 22/07/2008]