On 12 November 2026, officers from the Bari and Foggia provincial commands of the Guardia di Finanza (Italy’s financial police) carried out an emergency preventive seizure of assets worth more than €7.5 million from seven people under investigation for alleged involvement in a criminal conspiracy to evade excise duty, issue false invoices and fraudulently transfer assets. The order, issued by the Foggia public prosecutor’s office, was upheld by the preliminary investigations judge. The investigation, conducted by the Bari and Foggia economic and financial police units, together with the Bari’s Second Group and the Manfredonia unit, concerns an organisation based in Cerignola and operating across Italy which investigators allege handled large quantities of diesel without paying excise duty.
Investigators have identified three alleged fraud schemes. In the first, automotive diesel originating in other EU countries allegedly entered Italy by rail in tank wagons or by road in intermediate bulk containers carried on articulated lorries, accompanied by cover documents describing it generically as “anti-corrosion liquid”. Once collected, the fuel was allegedly transferred to a commercial depot in Cerignola, operated by a company linked to the group, and resold to fuel traders. The second scheme allegedly involved purchasing lubricating oil from Italian depots, ostensibly for export but actually used to “cut” diesel: blending the products allegedly increased the volume available for resale to filling stations, with full or partial evasion of excise duty. The third allegedly involved petroleum products subject to a reduced duty rate, obtained through companies set up specifically for the purpose, sold “off the books” and used as road fuel rather than for agricultural activities.
To buy, sell and transport the diesel using false documentation, the organisation allegedly relied on a network of companies, drivers, intermediaries, administrative managers and front persons. The Guardia di Finanza has reconstructed alleged sales of more than 13.5 million litres of smuggled fuel in 2025 and 2026, with unpaid excise duty exceeding €7.5 million. The proceeds were allegedly reinvested in further petroleum purchases, financial assets and property, while banking and asset investigations reportedly identified assets linked to businesses, relatives and trusted associates of the main suspect. In addition to the seven people targeted by the seizure, a further 16 people under investigation in the same proceedings had their homes searched, bringing the total number of suspects to 23.
Antonio Illariuzzi
