The operation began this morning at dawn, by the Provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza of Asti, under the coordination of the local Public Prosecutor's Office and with the use of 120 financial police officers in Liguria, Lazio, Abruzzo, Campania and Calabria, which dismantled a criminal organization composed of an "Asti broker" and entrepreneurs from Rome, Naples and Calabria, held responsible for having fictitiously exported diesel fuel for motor vehicles which was actually intended to be sold "under the table" within the national territory in total tax evasion.
The restrictive measures of personal freedom ordered by the Asti Judicial Authority are being executed, as well as the preventive seizure for equivalent of the tractors and trailers used, as well as company shares of the legal entities involved in the fraud.
The diesel smuggling was carried out by setting up a fictitious limited liability company (shell company) used as a formal recipient of petroleum product owned by a company located in the United Arab Emirates and stored at the Vado Ligure (SV) customs warehouse. The same LLC took care of the false export by presenting the forwarder with specific documentation certifying the transfer by land, passing through Croatia to an Albanian company (also non-existent), of the product extracted from the Vado Ligure customs warehouse.
The customs operation was concluded by sending the forwarder fake documentation certifying the destination in Albania, passing through the "Neum corridor", the 9 km long strip of land, territory of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which separates the territory of the Republic of Croatia into two parts; a territory which, due to its particular geographical and political conformation, requires specific simplified procedures.
The criminal organization, in order to formally close the export customs declaration, not being able to present documents certifying the actual exit from the EU territory of the automotive diesel with a visa issued by the Croatian customs authorities, and being able to present, for this purpose, alternative evidence, declared that the petroleum product had transited through the territory of Neum without having been subject to customs controls on exit, thus allowing the definition of the customs procedure.
At the same time as the enforcement of the restrictive measures on personal freedom ordered by the Asti Judicial Authority (4 precautionary custody orders in prison, 3 house arrest and 2 obligations to report to the PG), 3 tractors, 3 trailers as well as company shares and a motor vehicle were subjected to preventive seizure for an equivalent value of €180.000, equal to the excise duty and VAT evaded during 6 shipments of product.
In short
Diesel smuggling was carried out by setting up a fictitious limited liability company (paper mill) used as the formal recipient of petroleum products owned by a company located…
- The operation began this morning at dawn, conducted by the Provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza in Asti, under the coordination of the local Public Prosecutor's Office…
- The restrictive measures on personal freedom ordered by the Asti Judicial Authority are being executed, as well as the precautionary seizure for…
- The same LLC arranged for the false export by presenting the forwarder with specific documentation certifying the land transfer via…
Key questions
What is the main point of the news?
Diesel smuggling was carried out by setting up a fictitious limited liability company (paper mill) used as the formal recipient of the company's petroleum product…
Why is this news relevant?
The operation began this morning at dawn, conducted by the Provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza in Asti, under the coordination of the local Public Prosecutor's Office…
Which detail helps us understand the case better?
The restrictive measures on personal freedom ordered by the Asti Judicial Authority are being executed, as well as the precautionary seizure of the tractors and...
Choose the social channel you want to subscribe to