As many as 23 million litres of counterfeit diesel, ready to refuel thousands of vehicles, were discovered and seized in July 2026 by Italian Financial Police) and Customs Agency at a coastal depot in the province of Livorno. Laboratory tests found that the fuel did not comply with the technical and legal standards required for diesel intended for road use, due to an excessive amount of water in the sampled tanks.
The seizure followed a search ordered by the public prosecutor to obtain fuel samples for analysis. Tests carried out at Adm’s technical laboratory in Livorno confirmed that the product was non-compliant. The Livorno coastal depot had reportedly been identified by the Economic and Financial Police Unit as a significant supplier during the reconstruction of the commercial supply chain for fuel already seized in previous weeks in the province of Siena. The non-compliant diesel was therefore prevented from entering circulation on the Tuscan market at a time marked by rising fuel prices. According to the findings, a product containing the level of excess water detected by technicians could have affected the operation of refuelled vehicles, as well as constituting commercial fraud against motorists and road hauliers.
The criminal proceedings, opened over alleged offences of commercial fraud and evasion of excise duty, are being led by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Siena and form part of a memorandum of understanding between Gdf and Adm aimed at tackling irregularities in the fuel market. Based on targeted risk analysis, in May the Siena Guardia di Finanza officers and Adm officials, coordinated by the Tuscany and Umbria Territorial Directorate, had already inspected two commercial mineral oil depots and a roadside filling station in the province of Siena, seizing a total of 105,000 litres of diesel later validated by the Judicial Authority. It was the reconstruction of that fuel supply chain that led investigators to the Livorno depot. The proceedings are currently at the preliminary investigation stage.
