Naples – A dramatic case of suicide emerges from the investigations of the Economic and Financial Police Unit of the Guardia di Finanza of Naples.
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The investigation, coordinated by the Prosecutor's Office of Naples North, dismantled a gang of swindlers accused of having deceived a hundred entrepreneurs by promising European funding that they would never have received. The suicide story would be directly linked to this scam.
The tragic discovery: a suicide linked to the scam
The case concerns the owner of a farm in the province of Bologna. The woman, victim of the scam, had requested the transfer of a tax credit (the amount of which was not revealed) and, in a conversation intercepted on April 19, 2023, clearly expressed that she had sensed the scam.
In that conversation, the woman expressed her intention to report the incident “to the international police” also for “incitement to suicide”.
Subsequent investigations confirmed the tragic premonition: the woman's mother had actually taken her own life a few days before that conversation, precisely on April 11, 2023.
The mechanism of the scam: fictitious companies and illegitimate policies
The scam revolved around European Global Guarantees Ventures Ltd (Eggv), a company incorporated under Irish law. Although it lacked authorizations and registrations in the lists required by law, Eggv illegally issued surety bonds, offering victims access to European Union funding and incentives.
One of the suspects, for whom no precautionary measure was issued, allegedly worked to help the victims recover the sums paid, going as far as threatening Eggv's contacts with complaints to the Public Prosecutor's Office. “You continued to take the piss out of your customers and you didn't even have the courage to show your face…”, we read in one of the wiretaps, where the accused himself stated: “…allow me to state that for us this is still waste paper…”.
The investigations of the financial police also revealed the establishment of a new company in Bulgaria. The latter, in the correspondence, improperly used religious emblems of the Orthodox Catholic Church to instill confidence in unsuspecting customers, a clear ploy to make the deception more credible.
The arrests: leaders and collaborators in handcuffs
The precautionary measures in prison, issued by the GIP of Naples North, affected the alleged leaders and promoters of the criminal association: Gerardo Conza, 60 years old; Giuseppe Strabello, 29 years old, and Eugenio Giunta, 70 years old.
Pasquale Principe, 69, and Francesco Sicignano, 67, were placed under house arrest, both accused of collaborating with the association by opening bank accounts abroad and setting up “front” companies. House arrest was also placed on Angela Guercia, 47, who was in charge of procuring clients.
The operation of Guardia di Finanza and the Prosecutor's Office of North Naples highlights the gravity of a criminal phenomenon that, in addition to the economic damage, has had dramatic repercussions on the lives of the victims.
Article published on 4 June 2025 - 12:44
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