Maxi-fraud on Pnrr funds: money used to buy luxury cars, jewels and villas. Seizures worth 600 million euros and 24 precautionary measures are triggered

There are 24 – not 23, as initially reported – the precautionary measures carried out by the Venice Financial Police as part of the investigation into a maxi-fraud involving the EU involving Pnrr funds.

Of the total orders, the GDF leaders explained in the press conference, 8 are in prison, 14 are under house arrest and two are prohibited from carrying out professional and commercial activities. There are over 150 financiers who are carrying out searches across the national territory, in Veneto, Lombardy, Trentino Alto Adige, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Tuscany, Lazio, Campania and Puglia, also with the help of “cash dog” dog units.

Money collected for projects that were never realized

The 24 precautionary measures were ordered by the European Delegated Prosecutor, Donata Patricia Costa. The fraud activity is attributed to a criminal syndicate, with the involvement of various frontmen and the help of 4 professionals. In a first phase, the fraudulent activity involved projects worth tens of millions of euros, financed with Pnrr funds, disbursed by Simest, a subsidiary of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, with the aim of supporting Italian companies in their internationalization process. In this way, the suspects immediately collected 50% of the funding for projects that they would never complete.

Recycling and self-recycling

The investigations revealed that the organization was dedicated to the creation of non-existent credits in the construction sector and to support the capitalization of companies, for approximately 600 million euros. The subsequent activities made it possible to bring to light, with the ‘follow the money‘, laundering and self-laundering of illicit profits through a network of fictitious companies also set up abroad, in particular in Austria, Slovakia and Romania.

The reconstruction of the illicit financial flows was possible thanks to the investigations carried out by the soldiers of the yellow flames on over 100 reports of suspicious transactions, which made it possible to identify the promoters and facilitators of the criminal association.

At the same time, criminals had refined an apparatus of money laundering, protected by latest generation technologies, and credit securitization companies to hide the illegal business and find new ways of monetizing non-existent credits. Among the assets seized by the military there are elegant apartments and villas, cryptocurrencies, valuable watches, gold and luxury cars.