From Cartier to luxury yachts: bribes, false invoices, and exploitation in the shocking investigation into the railway construction sites.

Naples – A carefully wrapped Christmas gift, seemingly intended to hold the sweetness of a holiday, yet conceals bundles of cash inside. It's not a scene from a mafia movie, but the clinical, almost grotesque detail that emerged from the investigation coordinated by the Naples Prosecutor's Office—led by Prosecutor Henry John Woodcock—which reveals the hidden network surrounding the construction sites of the Naples-Bari high-speed/high-capacity rail line.

A strategic project, a driving force for modernity and infrastructural development, which, according to the judiciary and financial authorities, has become a breeding ground for a sprawling, deep-rooted, and unscrupulous system of corruption.

The operation, which culminated in the execution of a total of 20 precautionary measures (10 house arrests, 7 orders to remain in residence with reporting to the judicial police – in two cases accompanied by suspension from public service – and three suspensions), profoundly shakes the economic and institutional fabric of Campania.

At the heart of the order issued by investigating judge Federica Girardi are serious crimes: corruption in the performance of one's duties, corruption in breach of official duties, illicit intermediation and exploitation of labor, issuing invoices for non-existent transactions, and aiding and abetting.

The routes under the spotlight and the construction site mechanisms

The spotlight of the Prosecutor's Office and the Guardia di Finanza's investigative units has focused surgically on three crucial junctions of the railway construction: the Naples-Cancello, Apice-Hirpinia, and Frasso Telesino-Telese-San Lorenzo-Vitulano sections. Here, along the route that is supposed to shorten distances in Southern Italy, an opaque and predatory management of public affairs and large-scale private contracts is alleged to have taken place.

The investigators' investigations scrutinized the entire procurement process: from the initial awarding of the work to execution and accounting, including administrative controls, payments to contractors, the complex management of excavation materials, disposal of construction site waste, the supply of concrete, and even the rental of vehicles and equipment.

What emerged was a bleak picture of structural collusion: a well-established network of unscrupulous entrepreneurs and public officials or public service representatives who, thanks to their technical, administrative, and construction site responsibilities, systematically helped certain companies secure lots, expedite payments, and evade compliance checks.

The Geometry of the Tangent: From Cartier to Lawnmowers to Christmas Packages

In the order signed by investigating judge Federica Girardi, the map of benefits paid in exchange for favors takes on the appearance of a veritable price list of corruption. Not just briefcases of cash, but a colorful array of luxury gifts and consumer goods dispensed with calculated generosity.

Among the incidents investigated by investigators, the delivery of an iPhone worth at least €979 stands out, given in exchange for direct involvement in the approval of several work progress reports (SAL). In another indictment, the list of assets becomes even more extensive and bizarre: a car, a lawnmower worth €3.722, and at least €5.000 in cash.

But the peak of commercial cynicism occurred during the 2025 Christmas holidays. After a lucrative €6,7 million contract was awarded, the chain of gifts ignited: five luxury watches worth a total of €19.900 were distributed.

Among these, a €7.900 Cartier and a €2.000 Longines stood out, offered as a pledge of contractual loyalty and administrative compliance. Added to this were luxury stays and holidays, even extended to the families of the officials involved.

The filter of false invoices and preventive seizure

The corruption system didn't just thrive on material gifts and cash hidden in Christmas boxes. To fuel the cash reserves needed to fuel the illicit mechanisms, the organization allegedly employed a tried-and-tested mechanism of issuing invoices for non-existent transactions. This accounting trick was designed to create slush funds, part of which was directly reinvested in the corruption schemes.

Given the seriousness of the circumstantial evidence, the preliminary investigations judge ordered a precautionary seizure, aimed at confiscating, including an equivalent amount, the entire proceeds of the alleged corruption offenses. This is a targeted economic blow to the illicitly accumulated assets of the companies and individuals involved in the rigged procurement chain.

The other side of the construction site: enslaved Egyptian workers and 20-hour shifts

While administrative corruption represents white-collar crime, the other strand of the investigation reveals a reality of profound human and social degradation unfolding in the shadow of the great viaducts. The investigations have shed light on the irregular employment and ruthless exploitation of non-EU workers, particularly those of Egyptian origin.

According to investigators' documents, working conditions on the high-speed rail construction sites were "agonizing and degrading." Egyptian workers were forced to work long shifts, in some cases up to 20 hours a day, in complete disregard of regulations regarding rest periods and mental and physical recovery. Wages paid were significantly lower than the legal minimum wages, completely disproportionate to the enormous quantity and quality of the labor involved.

Completing the picture of gangmastering were systematic disregard for workplace health and safety regulations, subjection to harsh and oppressive surveillance methods, and placement in extremely precarious housing. Many of these workers also had irregular residence permits and lacked the required documentation certifying completion of health and safety training, exposing them to enormous workplace risks.

The involvement of the nautical sector and Antonio Amato's position

The complex investigation also includes a prominent figure in Neapolitan business: Antonio Amato, director of a company operating in the nautical sector and vice president of the Naples Industrial Union.

Amato is under investigation for the crime of issuing invoices for subjectively non-existent transactions. However, regarding his position, the investigating judge has adopted a strict distinction from the prosecutor's requests: the judge has rejected the precautionary measure of a residence ban advanced by the prosecutors, deeming the specific precautionary requirements to be nonexistent.

The legal case involving him focuses on the sale and purchase of a boat. According to investigators, a rental company was fictitiously involved in the transaction, simulating the purchase of the boat from Amato's company and its subsequent rental to one of the companies involved in the Naples-Bari highway construction. The actual sales channel, however, was directly between the two companies.

The same vessel, moreover, reappears in a separate and collateral episode of the investigation: in August 2023, it was allegedly made available to another suspect for a family tour of the islands of Capri and Ischia. This is a separate chapter that, as specified in court documents, does not directly involve Antonio Amato, confirming the complexity of an investigation that promises further developments in the coming weeks.