Britain owes the European Union budget €2bn after turning a blind eye to a major scam by Chinese importers, the EU’s fraud office said.
Britain owes the European Union budget €2bn after turning a blind eye to a major scam by Chinese importers, the EU’s fraud office said.
“We recommended that the European Commission recovers the money from the United Kingdom,” the EU’s anti-fraud office OLAF said in an email to AFP.
OLAF accuses Britain of ignoring rampant use of fake invoices and customs claims by Chinese importers which cost €1.99bn in lost customs duties to the EU.
The claim comes at a sensitive time in EU-Britain relations, just before London is to embark on Brexit negotiations in which the UK’s exit bill, estimated at €60bn, has already sparked sharp exchanges.
