Photo credit: BOL News
At least 40 people have been held in Italy over migrant visa fraud.
Reuters reports that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had complained weeks ago that mafia groups were exploiting the system for profit.
The 44 people apprehended included 13 in jail, 24 under house arrest and seven in custody. They were charged with charges ranging from criminal association aimed at abetting illegal immigration and money laundering to false invoicing.
Ten other suspects have been banned from business activities for 12 months.
The suspects allegedly filed fraudulent visa applications on behalf of migrants, who need employer sponsorship to start the process. Tey filed “around 2,500” applications from 2020 onwards “based on non-existent or falsified data”, according to prosecutors.
Assets worth around 6 million euros were seized as profits from the alleged crimes, according to prosecutors who indicated that some of the suspects accused of money laundering were linked to the Camorra, the Mafia in and around Naples.
