The figure emerges from new investigations by INPS and the Financial Police: tens of thousands cashed the check without having the requirements. And public money also ended up with criminals
The monstrous figure emerges from new investigations by Inps And Yellow flames: tens of thousands of citizens have received income without meeting the requirements. Before disbursing the subsidy symbol of M5sIn fact, no cross-checks were carried out.
And public money also ended up with criminals. One of the recurring controversies of the left is that the government no longer dedicates resources to healthcare and income support or support measures to address high energy prices.
The 1.5 billion hole and the flaw in preventive controls
Of course, even more could have been done for the excise duty cut, especially if those had been in the coffers 1.5 billion that the 5 Star government “gave” to those tens of thousands of people who were not entitled to Citizenship income because in the absence of the requirements. The astronomical amount of this waste of public finances, anticipated by Milan Financeis part of an investigation conducted by theInps together with Financial police.
The recipients of what was the symbolic measure of 5 Star Movementborn in 2019 during the first government of Giuseppe Contesupported by PD and also confirmed by the government of Mario Draghithey were x-rayed through a control methodology that also focused on prevention, cross-referencing public administration databases in order to identify irregular positions. Hence the emergence of the crafty ones Citizenship income for whom significant incomes had been omitted which would have prevented them from accessing the allowance. To the billion and a half certified by the financial statements ofInps tens of millions of euros are added. In the three-year period 2021-2023 the collections have arrived 250.6 million euros: 40 million in 2021, 75.6 million in 2022 and 135 million in 2023. In 2020, during the Conte II government, controls were minimal, perhaps due to the still ongoing pandemic. It is therefore likely that the bill for the State will come close to 2 billion.
To ferret out the crafty onesInps introduced the Current Isee dashboardan innovative preventive control IT tool developed by Central Anti-Fraud Directorate of the Institute which serves to cross-reference in real time the data of the Single Substitute Declarations (DSU) transmitted by citizens with the actual income and asset archives, nipping potential omissions or false declarations in the bud.
Payments to criminals and checks only arrived afterwards
Then there are those 5,800 beneficiaries with undeclared convictions or detentions, over 80% of the cases concentrated between Campania, Sicily, Puglia and Calabria, which emerged from an investigation by the Truth. The undue potential amounts to 46 million euros. The income went to bosses, fugitives, traffickers, convicts and not always illegally. THE’Inps certifies that the checks concerned “prior positions from the years 2019-2021” which had not been intercepted with the checks started after the memorandum of understanding signed with the Ministry of Justice in 2022. Which means that thousands of beneficiaries received the subsidy first and only then was checked to see what the other state archives already contained.
THE’Inps he explained that the activity on previous years was carried out by cross-referencing the databases “in a subsequent phase” compared to the operational checks from 2022 on the applications under investigation and being disbursed. The work on the past ended only in July 2025. This gives an accurate idea of what financial monstrosity was created by Citizenship income and the damage caused to public finances. But it also showed how fraud can thrive in the distance between administrations, that is, when it is possible to declare to one body a situation that is contradicted by the data held by another body.
So when the information was cross-referenced they emerged 2,196 subjects with undeclared prison status e 3,571 with undeclared previous convictions. THE’Inps confirmed that the number of positions intercepted has increased over the three-year period, with a “marked increase in 2021”. Over eight out of ten cases are concentrated between Campania (counts 2,288 positions), Sicily (1,217), Puglia (637) and Calabria (518).
The names of the underworld and the global bill for the public coffers
The news revealed that the Rdc was perceived by members of the underworld such as Antonio Pezzellasuspected of the murder and concealment of the body of Gaetano De Pascalecousin of the boss Paolo Di Laurokilled in 2004; from Nicolò Mistrettasentenced in 2022 to 24 years for international drug trafficking and from Domenico Tramontanaconvicted of drug trafficking; just to name a few cases.
Overall the Citizenship income it cost the State more 34 billion in its main two-year period of implementation (2020-2021) and in subsequent years before its remodulation and elimination. If we then add to this Conte’s other “masterpiece”, the Super bonusthe cost to the state is close to 200 billiona figure similar to the Pnrr. According to the latest survey Aeneasas of May 31st, the overall burden for deductions accrued on works already completed reached 131.553 billion euros (equal to lower revenue for the State). It means that it cost almost 6% of Italian GDP, just under what the State spends to finance healthcare in a year.
