Officers from the Portogruaro Group (Venice) and the 1st Trieste Group of the Guardia di Finanza (Finance Police) discovered 120 irregular employment positions and the issuance of invoices for non-existent transactions totaling approximately €5.4 million as part of an operation called "Dirty Delivery," coordinated by the Trieste Public Prosecutor's Office, targeting illicit labor contracts.
The Guardia di Finanza (Italian Finance Police) has dismantled a fraudulent system in the logistics sector based on the irregular hiring of workers and related tax fraud, investigating 14 people, five of whom are accused of criminal conspiracy.
The investigating judge of the Trieste Court ordered two arrests—one in prison and the other under house arrest—and precautionary seizures of over €750,000. Searches were also carried out in 20 locations in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Marche, and Puglia.
At the heart of the scheme was a network of shell companies owned by front men, used as "manpower reservoirs"—the so-called gray gangmaster system—to circumvent labor regulations and collective bargaining agreements. Through fictitious service contracts, the companies involved concealed the illicit supply of personnel, generating undue VAT credits and failing to pay taxes and social security contributions, resulting in significant losses to the Treasury and workers.
The individuals under investigation are residents of the provinces of Trieste, Udine, Modena, Teramo, Venice, Foggia, Pesaro Urbino, and Ragusa, while the 10 companies "supplying the labor" have registered offices in various regions of Italy. The searches targeted 20 company headquarters and the homes of the individuals involved in the illegal activity in the provinces of Trieste, Udine, Gorizia, Venice, Padua, Trento, Milan, Modena, Rimini, Pesaro Urbino, and Foggia. The findings of the investigation will be forwarded to the Labor Inspectorate, INPS, and INAIL for appropriate follow-up.
(Unioneonline)
