EPPO

At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Rome (Italy), the judge for preliminary investigations of the Court of Tempio Pausania ordered the seizure of €94 000 in an investigation into suspected fraud affecting EU and national funds.

The investigation concerns two individuals suspected of fraudulently obtaining public financing for a business project in La Maddalena (Sardinia) that was never effectively implemented. The funding, amounting to approximately €170 000, included EU grants and financing guaranteed by national support instruments for small and medium-sized enterprises, both amounting to 50% of the overall funding, and was intended for the construction of a kiosk on Cardellino beach.

According to the investigation, the suspects, acting as legal representative and de facto administrator of the beneficiary company, allegedly used a fictitious registration in the name of a third party to circumvent an incompatibility and retain control over the company. It is further suspected that false or misleading documentation, including fabricated tax documents and a counterfeit surety bond, was submitted to obtain and retain the public funds.

To secure the potential recovery of the damage, the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) seized assets corresponding to the suspected proceeds of the offence, including funds held in bank accounts, company shares, vehicles, and a share of ownership in a residential property.

All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent Italian courts of law.

At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Bologna (Italy), the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) of Prato have seized 237 000 garments and over 5.5 million metres of fabric, as part of an investigation into a VAT fraud involving the smuggling of textile products from China.

The goods were found in four hidden warehouses controlled by Chinese individuals in Prato, a city known for its textile industry. This seizure comes after a previous one of 2.3 million metres of fabric in November 2025, raising the total estimated value of assets seized to €10 million.

The investigation concerns a smuggling scheme where products are imported from Chinese suppliers to storage premises in Italy, with a view to avoid customs duties and VAT payment obligations, by allegedly using fake suppliers, buyers and delivery addresses. Evidence shows that the scheme also relied on fake companies set up across Europe – mainly registered in Poland and Germany – to reroute the invoices and payment orders from actual Italian buyers. This made it appear as though the goods were purchased within the European Union, allowing the suspects to avoid paying customs duties and import VAT.

Based on the evidence, in the last three years the fraud scheme allowed the suspects to evade import VAT and custom duties to the amount of €3.6 million.

All persons concerned are presumed innocent until proven guilty in the competent Italian courts of law.

At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Rome (Italy), the Italian Carabinieri carried out preventive seizures in an investigation into a fraud scheme affecting EU agricultural funds in Sardinia.

The investigation revealed a complex fraud scheme involving the false declaration of ownership and availability of agricultural land to obtain EU subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Between 2020 and 2023, the suspects, acting through multiple companies under their control, are believed to have submitted applications for EU rural development funds, falsely declaring to farm or lease land parcels they did not own or legally hold.

According to the evidence, these declarations were certified by a regional agricultural assistance centre (called ‘CAA’), which failed to carry out proper due diligence, allowing the disbursement of over €114 000 in public funds.

Allegedly, the unlawfully obtained funds were subsequently laundered through bank accounts and reinvested in commercial activities and movable assets, including the acquisition of a high-end SUV.

The case is part of a broader investigative effort aimed at combating fraud in the agricultural subsidy sector in Sardinia.

All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent Italian courts of law.

At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Palermo (Italy), a freezing order on assets was executed yesterday against four livestock farmers, suspected of fraud involving EU agricultural funds intended for grazing activities.

According to the investigation, the livestock farmers declared that they had carried out grazing activities on land outside their own properties, in their applications to the Italian Agricultural Payments Agency (AGEA) – responsible for managing Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies. However, they did not activate the mandatory “grazing code”, an official registration to authorise grazing activities on parcels of land outside a farmer’s main holding, which also triggers required veterinary inspections. It is alleged that they did so in order to deliberately avoid veterinary controls on livestock movements, in breach of the regulatory conditions for receiving public subsidies.

In this manner, the suspects are believed to have unduly obtained over €450 000 in EU agricultural funds.

At the request of the EPPO, the judge for preliminary investigations of the Court of Catania issued a freezing order for the sums unduly received, which was executed on Monday by the Carabinieri Agri-food Protection Department of Messina (Reparto Carabinieri Tutela Agroalimentare di Messina). Several properties, assets and payment entitlements from AGEA were seized, worth around €254 000.

All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent Italian courts of law.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Palermo (Italy) has dealt a blow to the illicit manufacture of smuggled tobacco products. 

At the EPPO’s request, the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) of Palermo, Rome and Frosinone seized a large-scale industrial plant for the manufacture of cigarettes, equipped with all the necessary machinery to operate two high-capacity production lines, as well as a separate facility used for storing materials and finished products, located in Pomezia and Ferentino. The facilities are valued at over €2 million and have the capacity to produce 4 million cigarettes per day.

Inside the plant, with an area of 4 000 square meters, the police found and seized 27 tonnes of cigarettes, 19 tonnes of tobacco and 134 pallets of materials, including items for packaging cigarette bearing the logos of well-known brands. Four articulated lorries used for transportation were also seized.

Seven individuals of Ukrainian and Bulgarian nationality were referred to the judicial authorities for possession of tobacco smuggling products and trademark counterfeiting.

Locating the facilities proved particularly challenging, due to the measures taken by the suspects to conceal the storage and production sites. The suspects also used jammers and frequency detectors to disrupt communications and avoid detection by the police. 

It is estimated that these facilities were able to generate products worth €700 000 per day, or €240 million per year, causing a damage of €160 million in unpaid tax and excise duties. 

All persons concerned are presumed innocent until proven guilty in the competent Italian courts of law.