From the use of the company car for private purposes by a medical director of the ASL, it was discovered that he clocked in without going to work: from this investigation the Carabinieri of the NAS of Cagliari discovered a scam to obtain European contributions and funds provided by Argea.
The investigation led the investigating judge to sign four precautionary custody orders: one in prison, the veterinary medical director of the province of Cagliari, and three under house arrest, the doctor's wife and two operators who own assistance centers in the agricultural sector. Twelve entrepreneurs who obtained the funds improperly were also reported.
The carabinieri, coordinated by Major Nadia Gioviale, started the investigation after some reports on the doctor's behavior: he was often absent from work. It was thus discovered that he collected over two thousand hours of absences from his workplace at the local health authority using his company car for private purposes, covering 25 thousand kilometres. Precisely this aspect made it possible to discover that the veterinarian reached agricultural entrepreneurs from Cagliari but also from Oristano and Nuoro.
This led to the Argea scam: the medical director falsely certified the characteristics of the agricultural businesses (some non-existent), thus allowing the entrepreneurs to obtain community funds (around 560 thousand euros were disbursed). All with the complicity of two operators of companies that provide agricultural assistance to businesses and entrepreneurs. The veterinary manager and the two mediators obtained, according to the accusations, percentages of the illegally obtained funds. Among the people involved was also the vet's wife: she was helping her husband and had also obtained funds . The investigations covered the period between 2020 and 2023: precautionary measures have now been taken. The charges, for various reasons, include embezzlement, fraud, forgery and undue receipt of community funds.
