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Procurement fraud, waste in public sector cost Italy 4 bln euros in 2015: report

Xinhua, March 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

Procurement fraud in the public sector and squandering of public money cost Italy over 4 billion euros (4.47 billion U.S. dollars) in 2015, Italian police said on Thursday.

The data was unveiled in the 2015 annual report of the Guardia di Finanza (GdF), Italy's police force assigned to countering fiscal, economic and financial crimes, and reporting directly to the Economy and Finance Ministry.

Procurement fraud in public contract negotiation and management alone amounted to about 1 billion euros, considering both national and European Union (EU) funds illegally drawn, according to the report.

Some 3,179 people were charged with crimes against the public administration, namely 56 percent of them with abuse of office, 23 percent with bribery and official misconduct, and 21 percent with misappropriation.

The finance police also put almost 20,000 people under fiscal investigation last year, uncovering some 14,600 tax crimes overall, 54 percent of which were related to false invoicing and fraudulent income tax returns.

Properties and financial assets worth over 1.1 billion euros were seized over allegations of tax frauds in 2015.

Out of Italy's population of 60.65 million in January 2016, some 41 million are taxpayers, according to data by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) and the Italian tax office.

The benefit fraud uncovered within the national health system amounted to about 4.2 million euros in 2015, the report added.

In countering illegal businesses by mafia groups, the Italian finance police put 9,180 people and over 2,000 firms under investigation during 2015.

Some 2.9 billion euros in various assets related to alleged mafia members' activities were seized, including 316 companies, the GdF said.

A further 747 million euros in properties, including 93 firms, were confiscated under the current anti-mafia law, which represents a more strict provision ordered by judicial authorities after an alleged mobster is convicted for mafia crimes.

More than 1,400 people were denounced for alleged money laundering connected to the mafia. Endit