Britain owes EU 2 bn euros over China import scam

Britain owes the European Union budget two billion euros after turning a blind eye to a major scam by Chinese importers, the EU's fraud office today.

"We recommended that the European Commission recovers the money from the United Kingdom," the EU's anti-fraud office OLAF said in an email to AFP.

OLAF accuses Britain of ignoring rampant use of fake invoices and customs claims by Chinese importers which cost 1.99 billion euros (USD 2.1 billion) in lost customs duties to the EU.