MINSK, 6 April (BelTA) – The European Union and Belarus will boost cooperation in the fight against smuggling of tobacco products, BelTA learned from the press service of the State Control Committee of Belarus.
Chairman of the State Control Committee Leonid Anfimov met with Director-General of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) Giovanni Kessler as part of the visit of an OLAF delegation to Belarus. The parties discussed cooperation between the EU and Belarus in the struggle against smuggling of tobacco products. It was emphasized that Belarusian law enforcement agencies, including the Financial Investigations Department of the State Control Committee, are working actively to fight smuggling of contraband goods. For instance, in 2015 the financial police seized around $1.5 million worth of contraband tobacco products.
The parties expressed interest in strengthening cooperation and conducting joint actions. For example, they reached an agreement to hold working meetings on matters related to the detection and suppression of tobacco smuggling channels.
