A case of asset-stripping fraudulent bankruptcy linked to the depletion of corporate financial resources is at the heart of an investigation by the Guardia di Finanza di Massa Carrara (Financial Police of Massa Carrara) into a road haulage company based in Massa, Tuscany, already subject to judicial liquidation and whose name has not been disclosed. The inquiry, coordinated by the Procura di Massa (Public Prosecutor’s Office of Massa), concerns two entrepreneurs identified as the company’s de jure director and de facto director, roles that are formally distinct but, according to investigators, complementary in the company’s day-to-day management.
The investigation focuses on a period preceding and coinciding with the corporate crisis, when the company continued to operate in the road haulage sector while building up a significant exposure to the tax authorities. According to investigators’ findings, during this phase the two directors allegedly carried out a systematic diversion of liquidity from the company’s coffers, progressively reducing available resources and undermining the prospects of satisfying public creditors.
The alleged scheme was based on frequent withdrawals from the company’s bank account, combined with direct payments in favour of the directors themselves. These movements were reportedly accompanied by expenditure deemed inconsistent with the company’s corporate purpose and therefore unrelated to its road haulage activity. Overall, the sums removed from the company’s cash holdings are said to exceed €2 million.
The aim of these actions would have been to empty, or at least significantly weaken, the company’s bank account, effectively rendering tax collection efforts by the financial administration ineffective. Against the backdrop of the diverted resources, the company is alleged to have accumulated a tax debt of more than €2.8 million, further worsening an already compromised economic and financial position. As part of the investigation, the Procura has ordered a preventive seizure totalling more than €500,000 against the two entrepreneurs.
