Italy's INPS crackdown on welfare fraud

Italian courts and law‑enforcement agencies have intensified actions against alleged fraud targeting the country's welfare system. The Tribunal of Milan halted an INPS claim that a former employee repay NASPI benefits received while her newly opened partita IVA generated no income, deeming the request unlawful. Separately, a joint operation by INPS and the Guardia di Finanza uncovered irregularities affecting over 3,300 recipients of the Reddito di cittadinanza, retrieving more than €43 million paid without entitlement. In Bergamo, investigators identified a scheme in which a retired INPS official falsified voluntary agricultural contribution periods, enabling roughly 130 people to claim unauthorised pension benefits and causing state losses exceeding €12.5 million. A further probe in Bari exposed a maxi‑truffa involving 72 individuals who obtained the Reddito di cittadinanza or the similar assegno unico by submitting false declarations or omitting income changes, resulting in a €350 thousand deficit for the treasury. These coordinated actions illustrate a broad effort to safeguard public funds and restore confidence in Italy’s social‑security programmes.