A new line of investigation into the fraudulent use of facade bonuses has led to the seizure of 186 million euros
Today, military personnel from the Provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza of Napoli they executed a precautionary seizure order, issued during the preliminary investigation phase by the Court of Naples - GIP Section, at the request of the local Public Prosecutor's Office, for approximately 186 million euros of tax credits relating to the so-called "facade bonuses", "ecobonus” and “building renovations”.
The activity originates from a risk analysis developed by the Revenue Agency - Taxpayers Division - Illegal Activities Sector on the entitlement to the bonuses in the construction sector provided for by the "Relaunch" Decree (DL 34/2020), which was followed by the investigations
delegates from the Public Prosecutor's Office of Naples to the Economic and Financial Police Unit.
The investigations revealed a fraudulent system, based on the creation of false tax credits for companies and individuals connected to the organizers of the fraud, in exchange for work never carried out: these tax benefits, directly or in fractions through intermediate transfers, would then be sold to a financial institution, allowing the criminal organization to monetize over 16 million euros.
In particular, the non-existence of the credits was hypothesized on the basis of investigations carried out:
– on the properties, which have not been renovated and, in some cases, are clearly in a state of abandonment;
– on the subjects holding the credits, who would in any case have had to sustain expenses (from 10% to 50% of the total amount of the expenditure) totally incompatible with their financial and income capacities;
– on the companies that were supposed to carry out the works, which in reality turned out to lack the related economic and entrepreneurial capacities.
With part of the illicit proceeds - obtained through the transfer of credits towards the financial institution - the purchase of approximately 70 properties, located in the provinces of Naples, Latina and Caserta, for a total value of almost 5 million euros, was ascertained. A further part of the credits (approximately one million euros) would have been used directly by the mastermind of the fraud, to offset his own tax debts registered in the tax roll.
The seizure of the credits and real estate as well as the assets in the
availability of the fraudster.
The judicial police activities involved the provinces of Rome, Latina, Caserta and Naples and were also carried out with the contribution of the local Guardia di Finanza departments.
The operation demonstrates the need for constant attention to the correct allocation of public resources made available to the community to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic and promote economic recovery and the modernization of the country.
Article published on 19 October 2022 - 09:05
