Trento, fight against gangmastering and illicit capital laundering: huge seizure

Blitz against an entrepreneur active in the catering sector suspected of having developed a complex and consolidated system of illicit intermediation and exploitation of foreign workers operating in Val di Non.

Maxi seizure of over 384 thousand euros from an entrepreneur active in the catering sector in the Val di Non. The seizure was carried out by the financiers of the Provincial Command of Trento after the decree issued by the investigating judge of the Court of Trento, at the request of the Prosecutor's Office. The entrepreneur, of foreign nationality, is suspected of having developed a complex and consolidated system of illicit intermediation and exploitation of foreign workers, in collaboration with some entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector, operating in Val di Non, leveraging the entry procedures provided for by the so-called 'flow decree'.

In particular, the soldiers of the Cles Tenenza noted how the entrepreneur, between 2020 and 2025, had demanded from compatriots, to facilitate their entry into Italy, sums of between 10,000 and 12,000 euros, and further amounts, quantified between 4,000 and 6,000 euros, in relation to the proposed regularization of the employment position through the conversion of the employment contract from seasonal to subordinate. The young compatriots, future labourers, were recruited directly in their country of origin and, once the illicitly requested sums of money had been paid, they arrived in Italy, to be employed mainly on farms in Val di Non and in some cases also at restaurants, directly or indirectly attributable to the suspect, all with remuneration and working conditions that did not comply with those envisaged by the national collective agreement.

The analysis of over 8,500 chats found on the suspect's phone and of the documentation acquired from the agricultural companies, in addition to the declarations of the offended parties, made it possible to reconstruct the employment conditions of over 100 agricultural labourers, all foreigners, in a concrete state of poverty and need: the victims worked working days lasting longer than those declared, in the absence of an employment contract, and were paid lower wages than they were entitled to. The suspect also took steps, in most cases, to regulate every aspect of the migrants' lives, by accommodating them in properties he owned, taking advantage of their housing needs to the point of hosting them, upon payment, in crowded and dilapidated environments. The 'corporal' of foreign origin was accused of engaging in illegal intermediation and labor exploitation, as well as extortion and self-laundering.

The economic-financial insights made it possible to quantify the alleged illicit profit attributable to the intermediation activity at 384,551 euros. According to the investigative reconstruction, part of the economic resources would have been used for the purchase of real estate, means of transport and for the acquisition and/or management of catering activities, also through registrations of family members or other subjects.