They sold their rice and other cereals as “organic” when, in reality, they produced them using unauthorized products. This is the accusation made against 14 farms in the Pavia area following a long investigation by the Guardia di Finanza. The operation culminated in the preventive seizure of assets worth over ten million euros. This amount, in fact, is considered by the Pavia Prosecutor’s Office as the illicit profit derived from the crimes of fraud in commerce and fraud to secure public funds without actually being entitled to them.
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The investigations
The large-scale seizure carried out by the Lomellina Yellow Flames is the result of a complex and detailed investigation that began three years ago, in 2023. It all started from reports by Federbio, a federation of organizations across the organic and biodynamic agriculture supply chain that aims to protect and promote its development.
The investigations uncovered a fraudulent system that, according to reconstructions, allowed the involved entrepreneurs to achieve a yield per hectare higher than the maximum allowed for organic rice production.
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Thanks to this scheme, they allegedly obtained 9.8 million euros in illicit profits from the sale of 40,000 tons of rice at the higher price set for “organic.” Not only that. The 14 companies also reportedly received public funds granted through regional rural development calls linked to the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for about 400,000 euros.
The use of unauthorized products
From the initial checks carried out by law enforcement, it was possible to ascertain that, even at first glance, the organic rice production declared by the Pavia entrepreneurs was clearly incompatible with the size of the available land. From the start, therefore, it was clear that unauthorized products were used to achieve such results.
