Esselunga, maxi seizure of 48 million euros in a tax fraud investigation – Corriere.it

The financiers of the Provincial Command of Milan are implementing an emergency preventive seizure decree issued by the Public Prosecutor of Milan, against Esselunga for the total amount of 47,765,684.45 euros. According to the investigations, conducted by the Economic-Financial Police Unit of Milan with the collaboration of the Revenue Agency’s Sector for the Fight against Illicit Illegal Actions, a complex tax fraud would have been carried out characterized by the use, by the final beneficiary of the illegal mechanism, of invoices for legally non-existent operations and the signing of fictitious tender contracts for the supply of manpower, in violation of sector regulations, which led to the issue and consequent use of non-existent invoices for a total amount of over 221 million euros, plus VAT exceeding 47 million euros.

Esselunga: legality always respected, full collaboration

In particular, reconstructing the labor supply chain, it was found that the employment relationships with the customer company were in some cases shielded by filter companies which in turn made use of various cooperative companies, while in others they were directly entertained with this ‘latter ones that have systematically failed to pay VAT and, in most cases, social security and welfare charges. Various searches are underway against the natural and legal persons involved in the provinces of Milan, Novara and Bergamo and the notification of guarantee information is underway, as well as for personal responsibilities regarding the crimes of issuing and using invoices for transactions non-existent, also in terms of administrative liability of entities in relation to criminal offenses committed by company managers. Esselunga announces in a note that it has taken steps to offer the widest collaboration to the judicial authorities and full support for carrying out the activities. We confidently await the checks and insights, in the knowledge that we have always operated in compliance with the law, declares the company.