November 7, 2026

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November 7, 2026

Newsletter

The European Post

Policy • Diplomacy • strategic insight

LATEST
Teacher Shortages Put The EU Teachers Agenda To The TestKingspan Fine And KKR Charge Put EU Merger Control To WorkMEPs Near First Vote On EU Space Act In Parliament Industry CommitteeMercosur Safeguard Rules Let EU Curb Surges In Car And Goods ImportsMontenegro And Albania Receive EU Accession Roadmaps From CommissionHelsinki Presses Washington Over Paid-For Patriot InterceptorsMeloni Letter Exposes The EU Single Voice Problem On UkraineEmissions Trading Link Defines The EU-UK Summit Agenda For 20 NovemberAddis Ababa Talks Test The EU-African Union Partnership PlanDark Patterns Face Reform As Digital Fairness Act NearsLong-Term EU Budget Talks Face A December DeadlineReturn Hubs Plan Reshapes EU Deportation Rules After DealFishing Sector Gets Vision 2040 Fisheries Strategy With €2bn FloorNominations Open For The Next European Research Council PresidentInvestFrontier Launch Pulls Private Capital Into Humanitarian AidYoung Farmers Targeted By 10 Share In Post-2027 CAP PlanCOP17 Biodiversity Deal Leaves Nature Finance Gap OpenParliament Backs High-Speed Rail Network Linking CapitalsEnergy And Tyre Labelling Gets Simpler Rules In Council MandateEU Defence Readiness Goal For 2030 Slips Despite €418 Billion OutlayTeacher Shortages Put The EU Teachers Agenda To The TestKingspan Fine And KKR Charge Put EU Merger Control To WorkMEPs Near First Vote On EU Space Act In Parliament Industry CommitteeMercosur Safeguard Rules Let EU Curb Surges In Car And Goods ImportsMontenegro And Albania Receive EU Accession Roadmaps From CommissionHelsinki Presses Washington Over Paid-For Patriot InterceptorsMeloni Letter Exposes The EU Single Voice Problem On UkraineEmissions Trading Link Defines The EU-UK Summit Agenda For 20 NovemberAddis Ababa Talks Test The EU-African Union Partnership PlanDark Patterns Face Reform As Digital Fairness Act NearsLong-Term EU Budget Talks Face A December DeadlineReturn Hubs Plan Reshapes EU Deportation Rules After DealFishing Sector Gets Vision 2040 Fisheries Strategy With €2bn FloorNominations Open For The Next European Research Council PresidentInvestFrontier Launch Pulls Private Capital Into Humanitarian AidYoung Farmers Targeted By 10 Share In Post-2027 CAP PlanCOP17 Biodiversity Deal Leaves Nature Finance Gap OpenParliament Backs High-Speed Rail Network Linking CapitalsEnergy And Tyre Labelling Gets Simpler Rules In Council MandateEU Defence Readiness Goal For 2030 Slips Despite €418 Billion Outlay

OLAF Investigations Trace 118 Million Euro Customs Fraud In Poland

Gísli Jóhannesson
Legislative Analyst, Anti-Fraud (OLAF)

Warsaw: OLAF investigations in the first half of 2026 show how organised fraud networks use the Union’s eastern frontier, with one case alone involving about €118 million in evaded customs duties and €79 million in evaded VAT. The figures appear in an overview of OLAF’s operational work from 15 January to 30 June 2026 published by eucrim on 1 July 2026.

The case dates from 28 April 2026. It concerned VAT and customs fraud across the Polish-Belarusian border, and it involved Belgium, Slovenia, Germany, Hungary and Poland. The overview links the Polish part of the case to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. It does not name suspects or say how many people face charges, so readers should treat the sums as the amounts OLAF reported, not as court findings.

Tobacco and e-cigarettes supplied another large case. Operation JCO VAPE, announced on 17 April 2026, led to the seizure of more than 94 million pieces and more than 2,500 kilograms or litres of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco between 14 November and 15 December 2025. Twenty-three member states and seven non-EU partner countries took part, which shows how far OLAF investigations depend on cross-border cooperation.

Other cases reveal the range of OLAF investigations. Many of them started with customs data and tip-offs from partner services. On 6 May, Polish and Spanish customs officers seized about 70,000 kilograms of falsely declared Chinese textiles in three containers in Poland. On 5 June, Portuguese authorities seized 14,629 counterfeit truck parts, worth more than €600,000, made in Türkiye. On 25 June, OLAF reported illegal textile waste shipments from Italy to Türkiye, with more waste found in Turkish warehouses.

Environmental and sanctions cases complete the picture. On 26 May, OLAF and Eurojust exposed an Italian scheme that turned waste ash into charcoal. In February, investigators traced hazardous waste from Albania to Thailand that was misdeclared as iron oxide. In January, OLAF reported more than 760 used vehicles declared for Türkiye but bound for Russia, with criminal investigations in three member states.

The overview has limits. It comes from a third-party summary by Thomas Wahl, not from OLAF, and it gives no totals for investigations opened or concluded, no recovery recommendations and no quotes from OLAF officials. The wider OLAF Report 2025, published on 20 April 2026, set out annual recovery figures, and readers who need totals should consult it directly.

The pattern is clear even without totals. The OLAF investigations in this overview share one lesson. Customs fraud, counterfeit goods, waste crime and sanctions evasion all exploit weak points between national systems. The next test for OLAF investigations is whether national prosecutors and the EPPO turn seizures into convictions, and whether customs authorities close the routes that the Polish border case exposed.

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