The Guardia di Finanza has seized the 17 stores of the footwear brand “Diva” in Campania, as part of an investigation into a tax fraud of 127 million euros.
Among those involved is the company “Asia Srl”, which manages the stores distributed between Naples, Caserta, Aversa and Salerno, with branches also in the Neapolitan neighborhoods of Fuorigrotta, Vomero, Centro Storico, Colli Aminei and Soccavo.
The seizure order, issued on January 21st by the investigating judge of the Court of Naples, was executed by over 200 financial police officers from the Provincial Commands of Pisa and Napoli, on behalf of the Public Prosecutor's Office, Economic Crime Section. Overall, the investigation involves 54 individuals and 51 companies accused of serious financial crimes, including tax fraud, self-laundering and the use of false invoicing to evade VAT.
According to the investigations, launched in 2020 by the Fiamme Gialle of Pisa, the group allegedly orchestrated a complex fraud system through the creation of 51 “shell” companies – entities existing only on paper – used to issue false invoices.
This mechanism would have allowed those responsible to obtain undue tax deductions and generate illicit savings of over 46 million euros between 2019 and 2021, in addition to an alleged self-laundering of 81 million euros up to 2024.
The “client” companies, located in various Italian regions such as Tuscany, Campania, Marche and Veneto and active in the leather goods and footwear sectors, allegedly made bank transfers to pay for non-existent supplies.
The funds would then be transferred between the bank accounts of various companies involved, until they ended up in bank accounts in China. From there, thanks to the complicity of Chinese citizens living in Naples, the money returned in cash to the main suspects.
When bank controls became suspicious, the group modified the system by introducing steps through two foreign companies, one in Albania and the other in Croatia, before transferring the funds to China.
Deputy Prosecutor Alessandro Milita highlighted how the transfers were “completely unrelated to real commercial operations”, simulating non-existent imports to create a significant amount of liquid money.
The operation represents a severe blow to a sophisticated fraud scheme that, according to investigators, has seriously damaged the Italian tax system.
Article published on 24 January 2025 - 20:03
