European Public Prosecutor’s Office arrests two suspects for biodiesel fraud scheme

In Luxembourg, European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Rotterdam (Netherlands) has arrested two suspects for their role in a customs fraud scheme involving biodiesel imports, with an estimated damage of over €60 million.  They allegedly imported biodiesel of US origin into the EU while falsely declaring its origin.

The two suspects had been in pre-trial detention in Belgium since May 2024, in relation to an EPPO investigation led by the Brussels office, where they are believed to be the ringleaders of a criminal organization that imported biodiesel of US origin into the EU, while fraudulently declaring its origin as Morocco. 

The same suspected ringleaders were surrendered to the Netherlands under a European arrest warrant, as the court in Rotterdam has ordered their pre-trial detention in another investigation led by the Rotterdam office of the EPPO.

In this second investigation, there is reason to believe that the two suspects imported biodiesel of US origin into the Netherlands while fraudulently declaring it as biodiesel made from used cooking oil (UCOME), originating from Bosnia and Herzegovina. In reality, it was biodiesel from other oils, such as SoyMethyl Ester (SME), which is a cheaper alternative. They allegedly did so to evade EU anti-dumping duties, which apply to biodiesel produced in the US due to its government subsidies and lower production costs.