Italian financial police seize thousands of Chinese electric scooters sold illegally as e-bikes
At least 6,885 vehicles, imported from China since 2023, were passed through customs with false documents and sold as compliant e-bikes. Authorities estimate the illicit stock at 5 million euros.
Nationwide seizure
Italian financial police (Guardia di Finanza) executed a nationwide seizure order on 30 July 2026, targeting thousands of electric scooters illegally sold as pedal-assisted bicycles. The operation, led by the Provincial Command of Palermo and enforced by units from Calabria, Campania, Puglia, Lombardia, Sardegna and Toscana, raided warehouses of wholesalers and retailers across Italy. The vehicles, imported from China, were deemed non-compliant with European safety standards and dangerous for road use and consumer health.
- Imports of Chinese e-scooters with false e-bike certifications begin via a Palermo company.
- Nationwide seizure executed by Italian financial police across seven regions.
The Palermo-based investigation, aided by the Gioia Tauro group, uncovered that at least 6,885 such vehicles had been brought into Italy since 2023. The total market value of the seized goods is estimated at about 5 million euros. The judicial authority, the GIP of Palmi (Reggio Calabria), issued the seizure decree at the request of the Calabria prosecutor's office.
How the fraud concealed illegal scooters
The core of the deceit lay in falsified documentation that presented the imported scooters as compliant e-bikes (EPAC). The suspect company submitted certificates of conformity claiming the vehicles met European Machinery Directive 2006/42/CE and carried CE marking. Deceived customs offices in Italy cleared the goods for free circulation, allowing them to be sold as legal pedal-assisted bicycles. The fraudulent system operated for three years without detection.
Once in the hands of retailers, the scooters were often modified to alter their technical characteristics, enabling them to run without pedaling, exceed speed limits, and operate without license plates or homologation. The Financial Police noted that such scooters are frequently adapted to function as unregistered motorcycles, posing serious risks on public roads.
What defines a legal e-bike
A compliant e-bike, or EPAC, must have an auxiliary electric motor with a maximum power of 250 watts, whose supply is cut off or gradually reduced when the rider stops pedaling and before reaching 25 km/h. The Italian Financial Police officer involved in the operation explained the rules:
When you buy an electric bicycle to use on Italian roads, first you have to check that it's a bicycle. Then, the e-bike or EPAC, technically speaking, is a pedal-assisted bicycle, equipped with an auxiliary electric motor with a maximum power of 250 W, whose power supply is cut off or is progressively reduced if the cyclist stops pedaling and in any case before reaching 25 km/h.
Vehicles that exceed these limits or can accelerate without pedaling are not classified as bicycles and cannot circulate under road traffic laws.
Investigation and legal charges
The investigation named a Palermo businessman and a related company as suspects for commercial fraud and falsification of public documents. The Financial Police's 1st Operational Metropolitan Unit of the Palermo Group, with support from Gioia Tauro, traced the import chain and the forged compliance certificates. The probe revealed that from 2023 to the present, every shipment relied on the same deceptive paperwork to bypass safety checks.
The seizure decree extends to all storage facilities and retail outlets holding the non-conforming vehicles. Authorities aim to remove these dangerous products from the market and prevent further circulation.
