The Police of Genoa have arrested two women on suspicion of scamming numerous foreign citizens, mainly from South America.
During the investigation, police found that the two suspected organised a scam, providing fake Italian citizenship certifications to many clients in exchange for large sums of money.
The two suspects, aged 31 and 33, allegedly have gained an income of over €70,000, as reported by GenevaToday newspaper.
To convince their victims of their legitimacy as real lawyers, the two suspects frequently set up meetings around the prefecture or court, especially in fake professional offices linked to lawyers.
They also chose the exclusive Genoese neighbourhoods to rent special studios by hour, usually locations with actual workstations. These receptionists received unsuspecting clients and directed them to fake lawyers, who signed the documents posing as representatives of a fictitious Associated Law and Tax Firm.
Moreover, the suspected used papers headed to ministerial offices and forged official stamps. These elements, combined with the fake law firms, misled many people, resulting in the two suspects earning over €70,000 at that time.
The younger woman was placed under house arrest as a precautionary measure, while the 33-year-old was subjected to the obligation to stay and report daily to the judicial police.
Due to the advantages it provides, Italian citizenship is highly sought from individuals worldwide. People holding such citizenship can live, study and work in all European Union Member States without restrictions. According to Statista, 131,800 individuals gained Italian citizenship in 2020, representing a four per cent increase compared to the previous year.
Italy offers three ways to get Italian citizenship: birthright, marriage and naturalisation.
Currently, the Italian passport ranks as the fourth most powerful passport in the world, according to the VisaGuide.World Passport Index. Among other things, Italian passport holders can travel in 107 countries without a traditional visa, and passports are free in 44 countries.
Last year, the Italian Border Police reported an increased number of stolen and forged passports and visas during border checks on the Schengen Area’s external borders. During that time, border police arrested 21 individuals, while 130 foreigners were returned to their countries of origin.
45 people were also reported for offences mainly related to the possession of stolen or forged passports, some of which contained altered entry visas.
Meanwhile, 796,000 travellers were identified and subjected to police checks in Galileo airport, which is 15 per cent compared to 2022.
