Migration management ‘fertile ground for crime,’ says Meloni

Rome: The arrest this week of a treasurer of a local chapter of the Democratic Party (PD) in Italy, following allegations of his involvement, along with 35 others, in immigration crimes has led to intense politial debate between Italy’s ruling right-wing coalition and the center-left opposition.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said that she believed the illegal arrival of migrants provided “fertile ground” for crime in response to the news of a major corruption probe in the southern city of Salerno regarding residence permits.

“The investigation by the Salerno DDA (anti-mafia investigators), which has led to 36 being investigated, and uncovered over 2,000 false applications for residence permits, confirms once again what the government has been saying that the management of migratory flows has been fertile ground for unscrupulous criminals for years,” Meloni said via social media.

“There was a system that speculated on immigration, exploiting foreign citizens who were willing to pay in order to obtain a residence permit, fuelling illegal earnings of millions of euros. It is no coincidence that we have decided to strengthen controls to prevent legal entry quotas from ending up in the hands of those who exploit immigration to do business. And it is no coincidence that I have submitted a complaint to the (national) Anti-Mafia (prosecutor’s department) to shed light on the all-too-many anomalies in this system. Immigration cannot be left to the mercy of crime. We will continue to work to re-establish serious rules and legality,” continued Meloni.

The opposition, center-left Democratic Party (PD) confirmed on Monday (February 3) that it has suspended its treasurer in Campania, Nicola Salvati, after he was put under house arrest in relation to the residence-permit probe.

It was reported that foreign ctizens were willing to pay up to 7,000 euros in order to enter Italy and obtain a permit to stay.

At least 2,000 false applications for residence are at the center of the investigation, while 36 suspects have been arrested.

Much of the reporting has focused on Nicola Salvati, one of those arrested. Salvati lives in the town of Poggiomarino near Naples, where he was deputy mayor from 2016 until 2020 and then became a councillor in the opposition.

Salvati was also a treasurer in the local chapter of the center-left Democratic party (PD), a role from which he was removed by the party’s regional commissioner Antonio Misiani on Monday (February 3) as soon as news of the probe was reported.

He was replaced on Tuesday (February 4) by national treasurer Michele Fina. Salvati became in just a few hours a source of conflict between the ruling center-right coalition and the opposition, amid which Meloni posted her statements on social media.

A boom in work permit applications by foreign citizens in Campania led to the probe being opened.

Magistrates opened an investigation into suspected criminal association aimed at organizing the illegal entry and residence of non-EU citizens, judicial sources said.

The system allegedly took advantage of the so-called ‘click days’ regulating the legal entry of foreign workers, with national online applications.

The irregular applications filed by fake employees and intermediaries were allegedly managed by an organization which investigators believe was led by Raffaele Nappi.

Nicola Salvati and his father Giovanni, according to the 300-page court document signed by Salerno preliminary investigations judge (GIP) Giovanni Rossi, who are accountants, are alleged to have “compiled and corrected the forged documentation for the proper presentation and/or good outcome of applications, also providing indications to the employees directly affected on how to ‘correct it’, as well as how to issue fake invoices.”

Investigators said the strategy was key to “falsely boost the turnover in order to subsequently present applications” to hire workers as part of the ‘click days’ and also “to launder money of illicit provenance.” According to investigative sources, tapped conversations purport to show the “stable, long-term and reiterated involvement” of Salvati in the case.