Police in Italy’s northern region of Lombardy have confiscated assets worth over one million euros from an Egyptian man involved in selling fake documents to help immigrants, mainly asylum seekers, get stay permits. On May 23, 2024, Italian authorities seized about 1.5 million euros in assets from a 37-year-old Egyptian man, who has been detained for over six months. The suspect was arrested in early December for allegedly providing fake documents that claimed to offer hospitality to immigrants, helping them get stay permits. He is currently held in Piacenza.
The investigation showed that the man, along with his 25-year-old wife, also Egyptian, had made many strange requests to provide hospitality to other Egyptians. This led authorities to find out that he had bought multiple properties in Pioltello (Milan) and various towns in Sondrio province. These purchases included 15 properties and five plots of land, including a vineyard, registered under the names of his wife and another person.
The inquiry, which also involved seven other foreign nationals, focused on allegations of fake representation in public deeds, false ownership of assets, and self-laundering. Investigators found that between June 30, 2020, and August 8, 2023, the couple filed 60 fake declarations of hospitality and seven fake residence registrations for non-EU immigrants in Pioltello. They collected over 100,000 euros for these documents.
The fake documents were sold for different amounts: hospitality declarations in Milan’s outskirts were priced between 700 and 800 euros, while those for Tresivio and Teglio municipalities in Sondrio cost 600 euros. The charge for residence registrations was 1,000 euros.
This case adds to the ongoing efforts by Italian authorities to crack down on document fraud related to immigration, highlighting the extent of criminal networks profiting from the desperation of asylum seekers.