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Italy's financial police yesterday said they had broken up a ring of companies they believe used false accounting to defraud the state out of €1.7 billion (HK$16.8 billion) of taxes.
Police said two Rome businessmen, Pierino Tulli and Maurizio Ladaga, created a system using false invoices issued by intermediary subcontracting companies in areas such as security services and industrial cleaning to perpetrate the fraud.
Using these invoices, large sums of money were put into the accounts of shell companies. The funds were then taken out in cash and deposited in San Marino or Luxembourg, and the firms declared bankrupt, the police said.
"The illegal activity has led … to damages to the state ... whose total sum exceeds €1.7 billion" since 2001, the police said.
A total of 62 people are suspected of taking part in the fraud to some degree.
Some 70 police officers were involved in the investigation across Italy, which also led to the seizure of goods worth more than €100 million, including 100 properties, two companies and hundreds of bank accounts.
Chronic levels of tax evasion, by both individuals and companies, are one of the biggest problems faced by the eurozone's third-biggest economy.
A government report published last month estimated that Italy's revenue shortfall is running at €91 billion per year, roughly the equivalent of six per cent of gross domestic product.
The financial police uncovered €56 billion in tax evasion last year, of which the tax service recovered €13 billion.
Last week, the head of the tax service, Rossella Orlandi, said she expected to recover a similar amount this year.


Italian police bust tax-fraud syndicate

News

World

Italy's financial police said they had broken up a ring of companies they believe used false accounting to defraud the state out of €1.7 billion (HK$16.8 billion) of taxes.
