MILAN, Italy: Italian police arrested 22 people as part of an investigation into alleged fraud linked to an EU-Italy financial scheme involving 600 million euros ($652 million) in assets ranging from villas to Rolexes, gold and cars.
A significant amount of assets had been seized.
Venice’s financial police on Thursday said they believe the group, which operated across Europe, tried to defraud the European Union’s coronavirus pandemic recovery fund and Italy’s generous home improvement schemes.
Apartments, villas, Rolex watches, Cartier jewelry, gold, digital currencies, luxury cars such as Lamborghinis and Porsches, as well as around 600 million euros in illegal tax credits for home renovations, were seized, police said.
Police said 17 people were arrested across Italy, including three in Slovakia and two in Austria, and searches were also underway in Romania.
The investigation raises concerns that both the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and Italy’s own construction programmes benefit fraudsters.
Italy has so far received around €102 billion from the EU’s coronavirus recovery fund, which is expected to reach €90 billion or more by 2026.
Italian police said they were cooperating with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). The EPPO is responsible for investigating and prosecuting crimes against the economic interests of the European Union.
In its annual report published in February, the EPPO announced that there were 1,927 ongoing investigations in 2023, totaling approximately €19.2 billion in suspected fraud.
Approximately 618 investigations have been initiated in Italy alone.
