One hundred million a year. That's how much the fraudulent system organized by two big names in logistics, Brt and Geodis, as emerged from the judicial investigation. Today the Court of Milan has arranged thejudicial administration for the two companies, which both belong to French multinationals with state capital, against which pending charges of exploitation of work, illegal hiring, tax fraud.
A complex tax fraud emerged from a first phase of the investigation
The investigations, carried out by the economic-financial police unit of Milano, initially focused “on aextensive tax fraud characterized by the use of invoices for legally non-existent operations and by the stipulation of fictitious procurement contracts which simulated the supply of manpower, in violation of sector regulations. Hence the preventive seizure of 126 million euros ordered last December by the anti-mafia management, then validated by the investigating magistrate.
In the second phase, the exploitation of workers emerges
In the second part of the investigation directed by prosecutor Paolo Storari, the investigative attention was focused on the transport sector, bringing to light "a systematic exploitation of several thousand workers” which yielded at least two companies 100 million euros a year.
The investigations "made it possible to ascertain that the clients, in order to offer themselves on the market with extremely competitive prices, taking advantage of the workers' state of need, subjected them to exhausting working hours and rhythms, moreover underpaying them, making them move from one company to another other, de facto depriving them of the envisaged forms of welfare and social security protection ", reads the note from the Finance Police.
"These practices, as well as being unfavorable for the workers - underlined the judges - were such as to influence the correct market dynamics and fair competition to the detriment of companies that instead operate in a healthy manner". This is why, also considering "the seriousness and persistence of the situations ascertained, the impressive size of the company in terms of turnover and workers employed", the judges ordered the judicial administration of the two companies.
Also fail in safety. Confirmed the hypothesis of illegal hiring
The investigation also reveals serious flaws in the safety if it is true that, in the event of an accident, not even the ambulance was called, but the injured person was "taken to the hospital by a trusted person". The magistrates also confirmed thehijacking hypothesis: a person coordinated the various corporals who placed themselves in charge of the various cooperatives chosen on an ethnic basis and exploited their work, paying by the piece or with fraudulent systems (salary payment as travel in Italy) aimed at depriving the workers of the contributions they had right.
Another measure was carried out at load of Geodis, other company in the logistics sector. In fact, the provision of the judges (Rispoli-Cernuto-Spagnuolo Vigorita) summarizes the verbal declarations of dozens of workers who would have been exploited, through a system of cooperatives in relations with Brt.
Phishing: new episodes
Moreover, it is precisely from false accounts presented as those of Brt, or of other shippers, that countless attempts arrive Phishing by email or sms, inviting the recipients of the messages to open the link to see at what stage the shipment of a package is. The phenomenon, especially very intense close to holidays, has picked up strongly in recent weeks.
