Moroccans pay 10,000 euros to work in Italy, then have to pay again to stay
Workers recruited mainly in Morocco allegedly paid 10,000 euros each to get a job and papers in Italy. When they arrived, the promised jobs did not exist. An Italian businessman and his Moroccan wife have just been remanded in custody in Grosseto.
The 64-year-old businessman and his 49-year-old wife were arrested as part of Operation “Border Line”. The couple are suspected of abusing the “Decreto Flussi”, the legal framework governing the entry of foreign workers into Italy, to run a lucrative trafficking operation, report La Nazione and Il Giunco.
On Bladi.net : Moroccans pay thousands of euros to work in Italy… then fall into the clutches of the “agromafia”
The candidates, recruited mainly in Morocco, allegedly had to pay 10,000 euros each. In return, they were promised a job, the documents needed to enter Italy, and the prospect of a long-term residence permit.
Once they arrived, they discovered that the jobs advertised at the company linked to the couple were fictitious. With no work or income, they were housed in apartments provided by the suspects, at a cost of about 250 euros per month per person.
When their visas expired, they were allegedly asked to pay up to 1,000 euros more for fake payslips in an attempt to keep their residence permits. Some eventually agreed to take small undeclared jobs to make a living and pay the sums demanded, following a pattern already seen in other fake job offers targeting Moroccans.
Contracts signed with defunct companies
The investigation began after several complaints were filed in 2024. During searches, police, the Carabinieri and the Guardia di Finanza found diaries and statements that amounted to a parallel set of accounts. The workers’ names, down payments and balances were recorded in euros and Moroccan currency.
Investigators also seized contracts for the supply of labour involving substantial sums. One, worth nearly 500,000 euros, had been signed with a company recently set up by the wife.
Several documents were allegedly drawn up in the names of companies that knew nothing about them, had ceased operating, were bankrupt, or were registered in the names of deceased people.
The judge ordered the couple’s remand in custody on suspicion of aggravated complicity in facilitating illegal immigration. The order cites a risk of reoffending and tampering with evidence. Potential witnesses had allegedly been subjected to pressure, among other things.
On Bladi.net : France: Moroccan Workers Paid 10,000 Euros to Work
In total, investigators attribute 31 illegal entries into Italy and the issuance of 22 irregular visas to the scheme. The sums were allegedly collected both in Italy and in Morocco.
