High-Level Conference on Customs Fraud in Helsinki
On 14-15 November 2019, the Finnish Customs and OLAF organised a high-level conference in Helsinki at which participants discussed current trends and appropriate responses to customs fraud. The event (entitled “Strategies to fight customs fraud in a globalised trading landscape”) brought together national customs officials and representatives from EU bodies, including OLAF, Europol, Frontex, and the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). Discussions centred around the challenges of customs fraud, e.g., underevaluation, misdeclaration, and smuggling. They also included best practices on how to prevent, investigate, and detect customs fraud in the face of a growing volume of consignments, particularly as a result of the boom in e-commerce.