As part of Guardia di Finanza (GdF, Italy's police force against financial crimes and smuggling) concerning migrant reception management in Italy, irregular contracts and fraud between 2015 and 2017 was discovered that resulted in over 164 million euros in losses for the Italian state. GdF division general Stefano Screpanti added in a hearing before a Italian parliamentary commission of inquiry into migration that in the same period some 165 people were reported to the authorities for embezzlement of state funds, abuse of power, fraud in state supplies, aggravated fraud, money-laundering and criminal association, including of a mafia nature. The general then added that, during the operations, ''contestations of revenue losses of almost 34 million euros were revealed and 47 individuals were reported to the administrative judiciary, as part of checks into cash flows of about 275 million euros''.

Illicit earnings from migrant reception

 Among the ''illicit conduct revealed'' were ''cases of ascertained aggravated fraud that resulted in losses to the state'' in order to ''illegitimately be entrusted with migrant reception and assistance services'' through the presentation of false documents. Screpanti underscored that during the phase of assigning services, there were ''numerous cases of omission of bidding procedures'' and that instead there was ''direct assignment of migrant reception services, including to those that did not meet the requirements''. On the centers' activities, the GdF said that it had found cases of ''serious irregularities in the recording of entrances and exits of those staying in the centers, non-execution of services they had been contracted to provide and non-conformity in the providing of meals''. Some inquiries also brought to light ''cases of infiltration by organized criminal groups into the sector, whose interest springs from the large amount of state funds allocated to deal with the emergency'' of migrant arrivals. 331 traffickers arrested in 3 years In Italy, GdF carries out a police function and has very close relations to the EU Border and Coast Agency Frontex, whose operations in Italy are coordinated by GdF. Screpanti noted that all other operations take a back seat to rescue operations at sea when an emergency occurs, since ''living-saving and rescue are the priority'''. The GdF thus conducts rescue operations as well as ''starting a minimum of investigation to later identify traffickers''. In the operations conducted by the GdF alone, ''over the past three years some 331 people have been arrested'' for being either people smugglers or their assistants and 115 vessels have been confiscated.