GdF Milan: 21 million seizure for tax fraud in logistics

The financial police of the Milan Provincial Command have executed a preventive seizure of over 21 million euros against the Consorzio Industria dei Servizi, operating in the logistics sector. The measure, issued by the Judge for Preliminary Investigations at the request of the Prosecutor's Office, concerns tax offenses related to a massive VAT fraud.

The investigation by the Economic and Financial Police Unit reconstructed a system based on a cycle of false invoices for non-existent operations totaling over 193 million euros. The mechanism involved fake cooperatives that formally hired the couriers, facilitating the exploitation of workers through the non-payment of social security and insurance contributions, as well as unfair competition practices.

The Consorzio Industria dei Servizi allegedly interfaced on one side with Dhl Supply Chain Italy spa and on the other with the fake cooperatives, acting as a filter through intermediary companies. The practice of illegal labor intermediation is alleged to have been used by Dhl "certainly since at least 2016," as evidenced by the false invoices uncovered by investigators.

The case stems from a broader investigation by prosecutor Paolo Storari into so-called "labor reservoirs," which had already led to seizures of approximately 24 million euros from the company Dhl Supply Chain Italy spa between 2021 and last year. Dhl, part of the German logistics giant, was found to be the ultimate beneficiary of fictitious procurement contracts established to conceal illegal labor supply.

Subsequent investigations reconstructed the "labor supply chain," revealing the "shielded" relationships between Dhl and the cooperatives, with the Consorzio Industria dei Servizi acting as an intermediary. This system not only enabled tax evasion through false invoices but also the exploitation of workers, who were denied minimum pension and insurance rights.

The practice of illegal labor intermediation has been used for years in the logistics sector, highlighting how mechanisms of tax evasion and labor exploitation can intertwine in complex circuits involving large international companies, consortia, and networks of fictitious cooperatives, with consequences for both state coffers and workers' rights.