UK PAYS EU EUR2.6 BILLION FOR PRE-BREXIT VAT FRAUD FAILINGS
February 22nd, 2023
THE UK government has paid the European Union (EU) EUR2.6 billion (USD2.77 billion or GBP2.31 billion) to cover pre-Brexit losses on customs and VAT fraud between 2011 and 2017 that it failed to stop, meaning it underpaid contributions to the bloc’s budget. The European anti-fraud office OLAF warned in 2017 that the UK was a ‘significant hub’ for organised crime groups issuing fake invoices for mainly Chinese textiles and footwear imports, which then transited to other EU countries often to be sold on the black market. The European Commission opened an ...
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