Panorama

08/02/1988 (1988x6)

: 08, 1988

The Two Billion Pound Rip-Off With few effective controls and checks the EEC's Common Agricultural Policy has been described as 'the greatest incentive to crime in Western Europe'. In Northern Ireland grain and cattle are smuggled over the border and in some cases the IRA takes a cut of the Profits. In Germany, beef traders have earned millions by forging export documents. And in Sicily the Mafia claims subsidies for tons of oranges that don't even exist. As the near-bankrupt Common Market prepares for Thursday's emergency summit on its finances, Robin Denselow investigates Eurofraud - who's involved, how it's done and why it's estimated to cost the Community ten per cent of its budget each year.