Authorities in Malaysia's Sabah state uncovered two separate liquor smuggling cases within a single week this month, the latest in a string of incidents that officials and industry observers link to the country's steep alcohol taxes and an unusual quirk in its tax code that has turned a nearby duty-free island into a smuggling gateway. Read More
Smuggling
Authorities seized 112 bottles and thousands of mooncakes near the Chinese border in an unusual case involving Chinese-made wine. Read More
A Chinese national who orchestrated a scheme to smuggle beer into Singapore by declaring shipments as food and industrial machinery was sentenced to 164 days in jail after failing to pay a S$560,000 (US$437,000) fine, authorities said. Read More
Malaysian customs officers have seized more than 190,000 litres of alcohol hidden in shipping containers and falsely declared as everything from furniture and shoes to bathtubs and welding machines. Read More
Once a lucrative gateway for moving Bordeaux into mainland China, the cross-border trade is being squeezed by big-data surveillance, weak demand and evaporating margins.
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A flashy Chinese hedge fund firm once celebrated as part of the country’s elite “100 billion yuan club” has landed in hot water over a bizarre wine-smuggling scheme involving Hong Kong warehouses, underground border runners and dodged taxes. Read More
A massive cross-border booze smuggling ring has been busted in southern China after authorities seized more than half a million bottles of wine and premium spirits worth over RMB 575 million (US$80 million). Read More
Smugglers used “water mules” to move high-tariff wine and spirits across the Macau border as trade policies widened price gaps. Read More
Chinese authorities say smugglers used “parallel traders” to funnel premium spirits and cigars from Macau into the mainland, evading more than RMB 3.16 million in taxes amid widening cross-border price gaps. Read More
Hong Kong Customs has intercepted HK$140 million (US$18 million) worth of smuggled goods — including Macallan 12-Year-Old whisky — hidden in containers bound for South Korea. Read More