Serbian N1 TV reported on July 7 that the Serbian company of European clothing chain C&A stated that it declared bankruptcy because the company “became the target of organized customs fraud by unknown criminals” .
The Dusseldorf-based textile sales company said in a statement that the perpetrators of the fraud included one of the company’s business partners between 2014 and 2021. During the year, more than 300 fraudulent import practices were systematically carried out, including the abuse of C&A’s company logo and the power to represent the company at customs. The above-mentioned fraud will affect 14 stores and approximately 135 employees in Serbia and has nothing to do with other markets where C&A operates. The statement also stated that the criminal behavior was exposed in October 2021 after Serbian Customs first informed C&A Company about the fraudulent imports.
After several months of investigation, Serbian Customs believes that C&A Serbia should be responsible for fraudulent imports, although there is evidence that C&A should not bear the consequences of this criminal act. Pay customs duties on the goods.
The statement also stated that after a thorough analysis of the situation, the C&A Serbia management team concluded that it could not bear the risk of further challenging Serbian law and in view of the sanctions against C&A Serbia. Exposed to claims, the management team has been forced to declare the company bankrupt. Further liquidation proceedings will be handled by the appointed insolvency administrator.
Blic newspaper reported today that the Serbian government discovered that this company had been smuggling Chinese goods for nearly seven years, causing Serbia to lose 6 million euros. For nearly seven years, the company cooperated with the Austrian freight forwarder Quehenberger to smuggle Chinese goods through forged documents. After the customs authorities initiated investigative procedures, the freight forwarder also changed the company name so that it could continue to operate in Serbia. There is currently no evidence that customs officers were involved in the case.
