Tax evasion and fraud: €4.7 billion seized over the past year and a half
Confirmed cases of fraud against the national and EU budgets amount to over 1.6 billion euros, of which 303 million relate to social security, welfare and healthcare expenditure
Key points
Almost five billion euros’ worth of assets and financial resources have been seized on the grounds that they constitute proceeds of tax evasion and fraud. But that is not all: more than one hundred million euros’ worth of cryptocurrencies have also been seized.
These are just two figures taken from the operational report of the Guardia di Finanza, published to mark the 252nd anniversary of the Corps’ foundation and covering the period from 1 January 2025 to 31 May 2026. During this period, approximately one million operations were carried out.
To be more specific, the 17 months of operations led to the identification of 8,297 individuals who had completely evaded tax and 47,419 people working illegally or off the books, with 20,429 people reported for tax offences and 223 arrested.
Over one and a half billion in fraud against the national and European budgets
Confirmed cases of fraud against the national and EU budgets amount to over 1.6 billion euros, of which 303 million relate to social security, welfare and healthcare expenditure. Among the cases monitored were instances of fraud relating to the Common Agricultural Policy: over 47 million was identified through the submission of false data and forged title deeds, resulting in seizures totalling more than 29 million and 323 people being reported to the authorities.
PNRR resources
Particular attention has been paid to projects and investments funded through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR): in this context, 14,951 checks were carried out to verify whether citizens and businesses were entitled to tax credits, grants and loans, as well as to ensure the correct execution of works and services covered by public contracts, amounting to over €10.2 billion.
