EU prosecutors on Tuesday (28 March) carried out searches at Belgium’s Liege airport and arrested four people in an operation against an alleged €300-million tax fraud ring run by Chinese exporters.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) said those involved were “suspected of having put in place a complex system to evade the payment of VAT on imported goods”, using Belgian customs agencies and fake firms in other EU states.

It said the scammers targeted in the operation — code-named “Silk Road” — were “believed to have caused damages of at least €303 million in evaded tax.”