Italy dismantles network that obtained illegal citizenship for Brazilians

The Italian police dismantled an international network that illegally obtained Italian citizenship for people coming from Brazil, using methods such as falsifying documents and in exchange for the payment of large sums of money, authorities reported this Monday (1st).

Agents from the State Police of Frosinone, in the central region of Lazio, reported to the Public Prosecutor’s Office an employee of the local Civil Registry and owner of an international intermediation agency, whom they accuse of “complicity in the clandestine stay in Italy of numerous Brazilian citizens”.

Furthermore, he is accused of the crimes of violating the law granting Italian citizenship, of ideological falsehood in public documents, of omission of official documents, of carrying out acts contrary to his obligations as an official, of abuse of power and of failure to collect consular fees in the minimum amount of 51 thousand euros (approximately R$ 305 thousand).

The network, which has existed since 2017, has benefited 179 foreign citizens, police said in a statement.

It was “a real system designed to encourage the illegal stay on Italian territory of citizens of foreign nationality” by obtaining documents “in a very short space of time” and “almost in the absence of the mandatory certifications and necessary documentary controls”, the statement detailed.

This scheme, according to the investigation, resulted in the beneficiaries obtaining “the recognition of Italian citizenship ‘jure sanguinis’” after “the prior payment of large sums of money”.

The dismantled network is linked to an organization that operates internationally, between Brazil, Germany and Italy, and managed to obtain “significant benefits” from its operations.

According to Italian police, the organization earned an illicit amount of more than 700 thousand euros (around R$ 4.2 million) in just three years.

The police operation began after an initial tip from the Italian embassy in the United Kingdom and the investigation included “long observation and monitoring tasks, testimonies from numerous witnesses and in-depth analysis of the seized documents”.