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Illegal Imports of Agricultural Goods: Fraud & Prevention

Illegal Imports of Agricultural Goods: Fraud & Prevention. Dr. Elisabeth SPERBER European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) Head of Unit - Agriculture Brussels. What is OLAF?.

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Illegal Imports of Agricultural Goods: Fraud & Prevention

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  1. Illegal Imports of Agricultural Goods: Fraud & Prevention Dr. Elisabeth SPERBER European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) Head of Unit - Agriculture Brussels

  2. What is OLAF? OLAF’s mission is to fight fraud, corruption (within the European Institutions) and any other irregular activity detrimental to the Communities’ financial interests (which covers revenues and expenditures) +/- 430 staff (investigators with various profiles, intelligence experts,IT-specialists, auditors, lawyers, public prosecutors,…..)

  3. OLAF – Unit B.1- Agriculture Working area: The Common Agriculture Policy - Fraud and irregularities related to import and/or export of agricultural products from and to third countries - Fraud concerning intra-Community measures (agricultural aid in all kind of forms)

  4. Communication with our main partners Customs Authorities Agriculture Authorities Veterinary Authorities Paying Agencies Judicial Authorities

  5. Case example: Illegal entry of Indian buffalo meat into the E.U.

  6. September 2004 : Arrival in the port of Hamburg of 40 containers of frozen buffalo meat with final destination the Russian Federation • First stage: Fake Australian/New-Zealand certificates • Lateron: Presentation of Indian sanitary certificates At the end of 2004: Finally 115 container loads seized and destroyed in Hamburg In addition containers in other ports (Tallinn, Klaipeida, Gdynia,…) covered by fake certificates with other origin Cargo destroyed in Poland, Estonia, Lithuania etc.

  7. Rejection and sending back the container loads did not really help… Containers refused in Gdynia were shipped back to India. The containers arrived in India… however: empty! The cargo had been unloaded in Dubai (UAE) Other containers were sent back from Gdynia to India. One day later they showed up in Thessaloniki and were presented at the BIP with fake Canadian certificates.

  8. Letter heading: 1. Hamburg type 2. Klaipeda type 3. Gdynia type 4. Tallinn type

  9. 1. Hamburg type 2. Klaipeda type 3. Gdynia type 4. Tallinn type

  10. 1. Hamburg type 2. Klaipeda type 3. Gdynia type 4. Tallinn type

  11. Case example: Illegal imports of poultry meat from China via Hamburg

  12. Import prohibition for poultry meat originating in China in force since 01.08.1996

  13. On 27.01.2004 in the port of Hamburg….. German customs start with the physical check of a reefer container coming from China

  14. A scan is taken from the containers and the results show differences in temperatures indicating different types of products loaded…

  15. Close to the doors the customs find cartons with spring rolls… …and some other vegetable products…

  16. …poultry meat packed in cartons mentioning a Thai poultry producer…

  17. Case example: Illegal imports of poultry meat from China via Koper

  18. Port of Koper

  19. Case 1: two poultry meat containers… • Frozen poultry meat hidden in containers declared as frozen taro (Chinese potatoes) • Place of origin – Qingdao, China • Place of destination – Budapest, Hungary • 3060 cartons – 51.102 kg

  20. On the Bill of Lading… Shipper in China Name + Address of Hungarian Consignee Name + Address of Notify Party in Hungary

  21. Findings after physical check of the containers: Frozen chicken breasts in cartons of a Brazilian company with Brazilian health mark

  22. Official information Communication of findings on 25 April 2005 to: • DG Sanco • CVO Hungary • OLAF (on 10 May 2005)

  23. Case 2: two duck meat containers… • Declared as frozen taro • Place of origin – Yantai, China • Place of destination – Budapest, Hungary • Interesting link between poultry and duck shipments: • BOTH shipments destined to one and the same Hungarian consignee !!

  24. Example of container routing…

  25. Name + Address of Chinese shipper Name + Address of Hungarian Consignee

  26. Findings after physical check of the 2 duck meat containers: • Frozen duck meat in cartons with no label • Packages of French slaughterhouse with health mark

  27. Official information Communication of findings on 25 April 2005 to: • DG Sanco • CVO Hungary • OLAF (on 10 May 2005)

  28. What can I find on a cargo manifest…???

  29. What the scanner can NOT detect…!!!

  30. By declaring vegetable products instead of poultry meat: Veterinary controls were avoided (veterinary inspection for all products of animal origin) Potential risk for public/animal health ! !

  31. Lesson learnt: A good co-operation between customs and veterinary services at the border is essential to prevent illegal introduction of goods possibly dangerous for public and/or animal health

  32. Thank you for your attention !

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