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Eataly burger bar seized in anti-fraud operation

Gold bullion and an Eataly hamburgheria near Turin were among the 250m euros worth of assets seized by police in a major money laundering investigation.

Published: 13 February 2019 11:21 CET
Eataly burger bar seized in anti-fraud operation
An Italian Eataly hamburgheria smilar to the one seized by police today. Photo: Antonella Ranaldo/Twitter

A hamburger joint carrying the name of world-famous Italian quality-food chain Eataly was seized this morning as part of a so-called “avatar operation”; a probe into the alleged use of shell companies and false identities in a large-scale money laundering operation.

Carabinieri police have arrested six people and seized a total of 29 “ghost” or shell companies in the operation, local media reported.

Police also seized 79 bank accounts, several properties, and gold bullion in the investigation, with a total value of €250 million.

READ ALSO: Italian police seize Sampdoria owner's assets in fraud investigation

Those arrested were allegedly part of an organised crime group that operated in Italy and abroad, using fraudulent methods to obtain millions of euros in financing.

The owner of the Eataly hamburgheria in the town of Settimo Torinese was the first to end up in handcuffs for receiving stolen goods.

He is believed to be the owner of the storage facility in which the gold bullion was found, according to local media.


Turin-based Eataly has branches around the world including this one in New York. Photo: EUGENE GOLOGURSKY/AFP

Eataly, headquartered in the Lingotto area of Turin, stocks sustainably sourced, artisanal produce from Italy.

Since first opening its doors in 2007, Eataly has risen to become the world's largest Italian food supermarket, and was named by Forbes as one of the most 'disruptive brands' of 2015.

The chain now has international stores in Seoul, New York, Tokyo and Istanbul with further openings planned for London, Hong Kong, Paris, Mexico City and Moscow. 

READ ALSO: Eataly fined €50k for misleading wine labels

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CRIME

Italy has most recovery fund fraud cases in EU, report finds

Italy is conducting more investigations into alleged fraud of funds from the EU post-Covid fund and has higher estimated losses than any other country, the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) said.

Published: 8 April 2024 17:05 CEST
Italy has most recovery fund fraud cases in EU, report finds

The EPPO reportedly placed Italy under special surveillance measures following findings that 179 out of a total of 206 investigations into alleged fraud of funds through the NextGenerationEU programme were in Italy, news agency Ansa reported.

Overall, Italy also had the highest amount of estimated damage to the EU budget related to active investigations into alleged fraud and financial wrongdoing of all types, the EPPO said in its annual report published on Friday.

The findings were published after a major international police investigation into fraud of EU recovery funds on Thursday, in which police seized 600 million euros’ worth of assets, including luxury villas and supercars, in northern Italy.

The European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, established to help countries bounce back from the economic blow dealt by the Covid pandemic, is worth more than 800 billion euros, financed in large part through common EU borrowing.

READ ALSO: ‘It would be a disaster’: Is Italy at risk of losing EU recovery funds?

Italy has been the largest beneficiary, awarded 194.4 billion euros through a combination of grants and loans – but there have long been warnings from law enforcement that Covid recovery funding would be targeted by organised crime groups.

2023 was reportedly the first year in which EU financial bodies had conducted audits into the use of funds under the NextGenerationEU program, of which the Recovery Fund is part.

The EPPO said that there were a total of 618 active investigations into alleged fraud cases in Italy at the end of 2023, worth 7.38 billion euros, including 5.22 billion euros from VAT fraud alone.

At the end of 2023, the EPPO had a total of 1,927 investigations open, with an overall estimated damage to the EU budget of 19.2 billion euros.

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