Italy seizes €560 million in fake Superbonus tax credits, 12 under investigation

Italian financial police in Siracusa announced on 11 June the seizure of approximately €560 million in tax credits tied to Italy’s Superbonus 110 building renovation incentive, after uncovering what investigators described as a sophisticated and dangerous nationwide fraud. Twelve people face investigation for criminal association, aggravated fraud against the state, money laundering, self‑money laundering, and issuing false invoices. The seizure, executed by the Siracusa provincial command of the Guardia di Finanza, followed a probe that exposed a criminal network with branches across the country.

The fraud mechanism

The fraudulent credits were generated by exploiting the “cession of credit” transfer platform of the Revenue Agency. Over 60 companies, deemed shell entities with no real offices, employees, or equipment, claimed to have carried out multi‑million euro refurbishment works on 22 condominiums across thirteen provinces, including Bergamo, Como, Macerata, Messina, Monza Brianza, Padova, Pavia, Roma, Salerno, Siracusa, Varese, Vercelli, and Verona. In reality, the buildings were undergoing or had undergone renovations by completely unrelated legitimate contractors. The criminal group copied the property data and submitted fake technical reports to generate the fictitious credits without the knowledge of administrators or property owners.

The operational ring

The investigation, conducted together with the Special Unit for Revenue Protection and Fiscal Fraud Repression in Rome and the Revenue Agency’s Illicit Activities Unit, traced the organisation’s leadership to professionals in Lombardy, who recruited frontmen to register the shell companies and assume any legal responsibility. The execution was handled by two professionals based in the province of Chieti, Abruzzo, who had access to the credit transfer platform. According to the probe, they transmitted over 2,000 filings, each for a fee, inserting the fake credits into the tax drawers of the companies that appeared as the formal beneficiaries of the tax break.

Seizure and response

The Siracusa Public Prosecutor’s Office issued five urgent preventive seizure orders, which were validated by the judge for preliminary investigations. At the same time, the Revenue Agency imposed an electronic block on the credits, preventing the irreversible spread of hundreds of millions of euros once they entered the credit assignment circuit. The rapid coordination was described as essential to safeguarding public funds, and the investigation remains ongoing.