China Smashes Steel Gangs Operating $750 Million Export Scam
- Nationwide crackdown nets 245 suspects, customs says
- Traders were allegedly evading full tax on scrap exports
Photographer: Paul Hilton/Bloomberg
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China has detained 245 people after a nationwide raid of gangs suspected of illegally selling more than 2.4 million metric tons of steel scrap to buyers across Southeast Asia.
Chinese authorities carried out multiple raids starting Monday morning after an investigation into unusual activity unearthed a network that was shipping scrap without fully paying the 40 percent export duty, the General Administration of Customs said in a statement Wednesday. Some 65 gangs were targeted and the value of the goods is estimated at 4.8 billion yuan ($750 million).