Amazon faces Italian probe over alleged smuggling of Chinese goods

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 people 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 transport of goods within Italy, the sources added.

Amazon in Italy was not immediately available for comment.

Amazon acts as ‘Trojan horse’

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 being appropriately taxed, a court document showed on Monday.