BRUSSELS (AFP) — The European Anti-Fraud Office has posted an officer in Beijing, a move prompted by the huge number of counterfeit cigarettes emanating from China, the groups' head said Tuesday.
"Being present in one of the most dynamic regions will give an additional boost to OLAF's efficiency in the fight against anti-contraband and anti-counterfeit activities," said office director general Franz-Hermann Bruener, announcing the unprecedented move.
"The deployment of the official will strengthen the protection of the EU's financial interests and facilitate international co-working with the Chinese authorities," OLAF, known by its French acronym, said in a statement.
In recent years, the number of cigarettes on the EU black market which originate in China has grown significantly
China is the world's largest cigarette market with 35 percent of global volumes, both in terms of production and consumption. It is also the biggest source of counterfeit cigarettes.
The presence of the OLAF official in China will ensure daily contact with Chinese law enforcement agencies and provide valuable intelligence for OLAF investigators and for their colleagues in the 27 EU member states, the fraud office said.
The new OLAF officer will also liaise particularly with Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International "with a view to combating counterfeiting and smuggling".
The Finnish official, whose name was not given, will spend four years in Beijing and be integrated into the main European Commission delegation there.
OLAF spokesman Joerg Wojahn said that while counterfeit cigarettes were the major problem to be tackled, joint EU-China customs operations in 2005 and 2007 had uncovered a range of fake goods including designer clothing and electrical and electronic goods.
He said that while OLAF had formerly posted officials in Bulgaria, Poland and Romania before they joined the EU, the Beijing initiative is the first time the European fraud office has set up shop outside of Europe.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
