In recent days, dozens of agents from the Guardia di Finanza and the Customs Agency raided two strategic Amazon sites: the logistics hub of Cividate al Piano, in the province of Bergamo, and the Italian headquarters in the center of Milan.
In Bergamo, around 5,000 products of various types were seized, including toys, mobile phone covers, air fryers, stationery and small scissors, all coming from China. In the Milan office, however, investigators acquired IT equipment and identified the person responsible for the movement of goods on Italian territory.
But what is the e-commerce giant accused of?
Amazon as the “Trojan Horse”
According to the authorities, Amazon acted as a real “Trojan horse”, facilitating the entry of Chinese products into Italy without paying the sales taxes and customs duties due. The mechanism would be complex and would involve not only the transport channels and logistics hubs of the e-commerce giant, but also other logistics companies, presumably used as shell companies to circumvent the tax system.
The Milan prosecutors, in collaboration with the Monza Financial Police, suspect that the goods are imported from China to Europe and then transferred to Italy through undeclared channels, to be subsequently distributed and sold through the Amazon marketplace. This would constitute smuggling and violate European Union customs regulations.
The scale of the operation would be impressive. According to three sources cited by Reuters (which first reported the news), the number of products involved could reach half a million, with dozens of Italian companies implicated, many of which are believed to be fronts for Chinese entities. The economic damage for the Italian state could amount to hundreds of millions of euros.
Amazon’s algorithm, according to prosecutors, would allow the sale of goods from non-EU sellers, mainly Chinese, without adequately identifying the supplier, thus facilitating VAT evasion. However, Italian law establishes that platforms offering goods for sale are responsible for taxes not paid by non-EU sellers.
An investigation that starts from afar
This new line of investigation stems from a previous investigation into an alleged €1.2 billion tax evasion case. In that case, Milan prosecutors had investigated three executives and Amazon’s European unit based in Luxembourg for alleged tax fraud linked to online sales in Italy between 2019 and 2021.
The Italian Revenue Agency has already presented Amazon with a proposed agreement, on which the US group must comment by December. At the same time, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office also opened its own investigation into Amazon accounts from 2021 to 2024, after the introduction of new EU rules that imposed stricter tax obligations on marketplaces.
In July, Milan prosecutors were summoned to the Hague headquarters of Eurojust, the EU agency for cooperation in criminal justice, where they presented their investigation to colleagues from several European countries, including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Belgium, Sweden and Ireland. According to one source, the investigation is expected to be extended to all 27 nations of the European Union.
Amazon’s reply
Amazon declined to comment on the searches, but issued a statement saying it was:
committed to complying with all applicable tax laws and fully cooperating with all competent authorities.
In the past, the company had already declared that it complies with all current tax regulations.
It is not yet clear what impact the searches will have on Amazon’s daily operations in Italy, nor have the identities and precise number of people investigated been disclosed.
