Rome’s Carabinieri Unit for the Protection of Labour and Salerno’s Guardia di Finanza carried out a dawn operation on 27 July that dismantled an extensive criminal network selling Italian residence permits to non-EU nationals. Investigators say the group lodged hundreds of fraudulent nulla-osta applications under the annual Decreto Flussi and “regularisation” amnesties, using shell companies and complicit consultants to fabricate job offers. Fees reportedly ranged from €6,000 to €10,000 per permit, with migrants from Morocco, Bangladesh and India among the main clients. The probe began in late 2025 after labour inspectors noticed an unusual concentration of applications linked to the same group of intermediaries. Wiretaps revealed that recruiters coached migrants on how to answer police questions and arranged forged payslips to pass subsequent checks. In some cases, the permits were resold on to third parties once issued, generating an illicit market that prosecutors estimate to be worth more than €4 million. Twenty-two precautionary measures were executed in Salerno, Rome, Naples, Milan, Brescia, Prato, Latina, Caserta, Foggia and Reggio Calabria. Assets worth €2.3 million—including bank accounts, luxury cars and real-estate holdings—were seized. Authorities are now cross-checking the authenticity of more than 1,200 permits issued since 2024; holders found to have obtained documents fraudulently face revocation and deportation. For employers and global-mobility managers the case is a warning that relying on unvetted intermediaries can expose companies and assignees to criminal proceedings and reputational damage. Compliance teams should double-check the legitimacy of labour-sponsor companies, keep copies of all filings made on their behalf and monitor employees’ permit status through the Ministry of the Interior’s ALI portal. The government is expected to tighten audit procedures for the 2026–2028 Decreto Flussi quota round, including real-time data-sharing between labour offices, INPS and the financial-police anti-fraud unit.
Source: ANSA
