Customs investigators in Bavaria have revealed the smuggling of solar modules from China sold at dumping prices in Germany worth at least 33 million euros. The customs office said it had searched the offices of a company based in Munich that offered the solar power modules as well as the premises of other companies and private persons that are possibly related to the tax and tariff evasion case in three other German cities, according to Clean Energy Wire.

“The buyers are suspected to knowingly have purchased Chinese solar modules from the Munich-based company that have been imported to Germany in disregard of minimum import prices,” the customs office said. The investigators explained that the suspects had used “a well-known business model,” whereby the solar modules are initially declared at the customs office as being bought at regular minimum prices but that part of the purchase price had later been refunded to buyers through so-called “kick-back payments.” This means that the buyers ultimately had paid Chinese market prices, which lie far below those required in the European Union. The solar modules had been imported in more than 700 sea containers via the port of Rotterdam and were used in solar farms in Germany and France, the customs office said.