MILAN (Reuters) -Italian police carried out searches and seizures at two Amazon sites in Italy on Monday as part of an investigation into the alleged smuggling of Chinese goods, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Dozens of officers from the Guardia di Finanza tax police and the customs agency seized around 5,000 products at a logistics hub operated by the e-commerce giant in Cividate al Piano, in the northern province of Bergamo, the sources said.
At Amazon’s Italian headquarters in central Milan, police seized IT equipment and identified the Amazon manager responsible for the transportation of goods within Italy, the sources added.
Amazon in Italy was not immediately available for comment.
Italian prosecutors allege that Amazon acts as a kind of “Trojan horse” allowing an as yet unknown number of Chinese goods to circulate in Italy without paying the appropriate taxes, a court document showed on Monday.
Among the products seized at the Bergamo centre were toys, mobile phone covers, air fryers, pens and small scissors.
It was not immediately clear what impact the two operations would have on Amazon’s activities in Italy.
The smuggling probe is a new line of inquiry stemming from an investigation into an alleged 1.2 billion euro tax evasion case.
The investigation, led by Milan prosecutors together with the Monza branch of the Guardia di Finanza, alleges smuggling offences both against dozens of Italian companies, many of which are believed to be fronts for Chinese entities, and against the manager in charge of the movement of goods via Amazon.
Prosecutors suspect that goods are being brought from China into the European Union, and then into Italy, through currently unknown channels, without paying sales taxes or customs duties.
The products are then allegedly moved and sold in Italy via Amazon’s marketplace.
Milan prosecutors are investigating both suspected smuggling and violations of the EU customs code.
(Reporting by Emilio Parodi; Editing by Crispian Balmer)
