A man accused of demanding money from Ukrainian war refugees to carry out free paperwork for them was arrested by police on Thursday (November 30) on charges of improper inducement to give or promise a benefit.

The 26-year-old Italian man of Ghanaian origin was placed under house arrest ahead of a hearing to confirm his arrest.

Episode dates back to February 2022

The episode dates back to the end of February 2022, shortly after the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine amid a boom in requests to reunite families as temporary protection filed by Ukrainian citizens already present in Italy for work reasons, investigative sources said. Such practices are free for Ukrainian asylum seekers and have priority in police stations due to humanitarian reasons linked to the war.

However, the 26-year-old man, who lives in the area of Reggio Emilia, allegedly demanded money (about €100 per person) from six Ukrainian citizens -- with as many cases under investigation -- who had asked for help at the small center of assistance where the suspect works, which is located close to the station of Reggio Emilia and is recognized by the labor ministry.

The youth allegedly promised that the documents would be quickly delivered and processed by the police, where they had priority anyway, investigative sources said.

The six alleged victims reported man to authorities

The investigation kicked off after the immigration office of Reggio Emilia's central police station heard from the alleged victims -- who had been summoned to complete the procedure -- that they had paid for the free paperwork.

The investigation -- coordinated by prosecutor Valentina Salvi and by chief prosecutor Calogero Gaetano Paci and conducted by the flying squad and by the immigration office of the local police headquarters -- led to the request to arrest the 26-year-old. The request was granted by the preliminary investigations judge (GIP) Dario De Luca.