Prosecutors Valentina Mondovì and Paolo Storari have focused on Gxo Logistics Italy, the Italian branch of the logistics multinational that provides services to major fashion, retail, and food brands. The procedure is similar to one already initiated by the prosecutors concerning subcontracting, involving an investigation into the network of cooperatives supplying labor for warehouses and distribution, and verifying their employment relationships and tax compliance.
On July 2, 2024, the Prosecutor's Office announced the outcome of the investigation against Gxo: the Guardia di Finanza of Lodi seized 83.9 million euros from the Italian branch of the multinational, accused of a "complex tax fraud," a crime attributed to the two executives who signed the tax returns between 2017 and 2023.
In a statement, the Guardia di Finanza explained that the fraud allegedly occurred through "the improper use by the aforementioned company, as the final beneficiary, of invoices for legally non-existent transactions in connection with fictitious contract agreements instead of labor supply contracts, in violation of sector regulations. Within the context of this illegal mechanism, false invoices amounting to over 382.6 million euros in taxable value were issued and subsequently used by the beneficiary company."
Reconstructing the labor supply chain, "it was found that the employment relationships with the commissioning company were 'shielded' by intermediary consortia and cooperatives, which in turn used various cooperatives and companies functioning merely as labor reservoirs, systematically omitting the required tax, social security, and welfare obligations."
On July 2, searches are still ongoing in the provinces of Milan, Monza and Brianza, Novara, and Piacenza against the involved companies, with notifications of guarantee also issued regarding administrative liability.
