Meal vouchers: 20 million seized from Edenred Italy for fraud and bid-rigging
The Guardia di Finanza seized EUR 20 million from Edenred Italia, the leading company in meal vouchers and ticket restaurant, as part of an investigation by the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office for aggravated fraud, bid-rigging and administrative offences
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2' min read
The top management of Edenred Italia, a company specialising in meal vouchers and restaurant tickets, are under investigation in an investigation by the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office that led to the seizure today of EUR 20 million. In particular, the public prosecutor Carlo Villani is accusing four people, as well as the company, of crimes of aggravated fraud, bid-rigging in conspiracy, and administrative offences. The facts concern a period between 2021 and 2023.
Meal voucher fraud: 20 million seized
This morning, the Guardia di Finanza, on the orders of the gip of Rome, executed a preventive seizure decree of assets worth EUR 20 million against the leading service company for public and private enterprises, and in particular tickets and meal vouchers.
"The measure," explains a note from the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office, "is adopted for administrative offences dependent on the crimes of fraud to the detriment of the State and disturbance of the freedom of tenders perpetrated, for the benefit of the entity, by four legal representatives who have succeeded one another over time.
The investigations, coordinated by the Public Prosecutor's Office and carried out by the Economic-Financial Police Unit of the Guardia di Finanza of Rome, 'allowed the reconstruction of fraudulent conduct, allegedly fraudulent, in the participation in a tender for the award of meal vouchers for the Public Administration for an estimated tender amount of 1,250,000,000, which would have led to the unlawful awarding and related execution of 4 lots for a total value of approximately EUR 580 million to the company's advantage'.
The survey on discounts and commissions
.In detail, according to the alleged offence, 'the company awarded the contract and issuing the luncheon vouchers, when submitting the offer, would have falsely declared the equivalence between the discount (or "discount") applied to the Public Administration and the commission (or "unconditional discount") applied to the contracted outlets, a premise established under penalty of ineligibility by the law on tenders. By entering into parallel agreements, on the other hand, the winning company would in fact have relegated to the contracted outlets part of the envisaged commission, thus applying a greater discount than that applied to the Public Administration and, in this way, violating the rules imposed by the tender".
