The Comando provinciale della Guardia di Finanza di Roma (Rome Provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza), through the Compagnia di Pomezia (Pomezia Company), closed an investigation on 17 July 2026 into an illegal labour supply system in the logistics sector. The inquiry was carried out on behalf of the Procura della Repubblica di Velletri (Public Prosecutor’s Office of Velletri), which coordinated the entire operation. At the end of the checks, 23 people and 11 companies were reported to the Velletri prosecutors. They are accused, in various capacities, of issuing and recording invoices for non-existent transactions, unlawfully offsetting tax credits and the fraudulent supply of labour.
The mechanism reconstructed by investigators was based on 11 “reservoir” companies, which had no independent organisational structure but were formally listed as the employers. The workers appeared to be employed by these entities, while the actual management of their work was allegedly attributable to a lead consortium. According to the prosecution’s case, this separation between formal ownership and the effective management of employment relationships affected the legal and economic position of the workers involved. Relations between the lead company and the member companies were governed by procurement contracts that were deemed to lack the necessary substantive requirements. These contracts allegedly supported an invoicing system for non-existent transactions designed to reduce tax and social security liabilities.
Investigators identified more than 1,800 workers in irregular conditions between 2020 and 2022. The irregularities concerned both the correct classification of employment relationships and compliance with social security and welfare contribution obligations. The total value of invoices considered fictitious exceeds €35 million, against estimated VAT evasion of more than €10 million. The Guardia di Finanza also identified the unlawful offsetting of non-existent tax credits worth more than €1.7 million. The findings of the investigation were also sent to the Inps (National Social Security Institute), which recalculated the unpaid social security contributions by analysing the Uniemens flow of the consortium companies, the tool through which employers periodically report workers’ pay and contribution data to the institute. It imposed penalties of more than €7 million. The investigation also involved the clients of the logistics companies under scrutiny, including supermarkets, hypermarkets and discount retailers, which indirectly benefited from the irregularities. As a result, the full amounts reconstructed were also challenged against them.
