China seized a tanker and detained several people last month, including one employee of Swiss trading house Gunvor, as part of a probe into suspected tax evasion on imported oil, Chinese and trading industry officials said, Reuters reported. Gunvor confirmed its employee had been detained for questioning without naming him. Gunvor said it has not been notified of a formal arrest or any charges against its employee. “Gunvor itself has not been formally notified of any investigation involving the company,” a Geneva-based spokesman for the firm said. He said that following the detention the firm had looked into the activities of its employee and found no wrongdoing. China has stepped up efforts to crack down on fuel smuggling, which has increased after authorities raised consumption taxes on oil products in 2014, creating price gaps between prices abroad and at home. A senior official at China Changjiang National Shipping Group Corp. said that its vessel, the Hong-Kong-flagged “CSC Friendship,” had been held “to help investigations” of Guangzhou customs.
