Italy's Guardia di Finanza uncovers €35 million logistics tax fraud

The Guardia di Finanza in Rome identified an elaborate scheme in the logistics sector that used eleven shell companies to employ more than 1,800 workers irregularly between 2020 and 2022. The arrangement separated formal ownership from actual work management, enabling the creation of fictitious invoices and the evasion of over €35 million in taxes, including more than €10 million in unpaid VAT, and the avoidance of mandatory social‑security contributions. Sanctions and reclaimed contributions total more than €7 million.

In a separate investigation in Agrigento, the same police force uncovered irregular employment contracts for 131 teachers at a private paritarian school managed by a cooperative. The contracts, billed as project‑based collaborations, were re‑qualified as standard employment, resulting in unpaid social‑security contributions and penalties exceeding €435 000. An additional €300 000 of undeclared revenue was reported to the tax agency, and the cooperative’s legal representative was referred to the prosecutor for alleged violations.