In this context, the Provincial Commander of the Financial Police of Prato paid tribute to the work of the three Green Basques under the Prato Group who, during a roadside check, proceeded to report a person for incitement to corruption: “the protection of the socio-economic interests of the community in which we live comes first and foremost from the development of solid ethical and professional integrity among those who are called upon to guarantee compliance with the rules”.
The young entrepreneur was on board a van, driven by another person and loaded with textile products not accompanied by the necessary documentation justifying their origin and destination. After the military halted and the preliminary identification and document control activities, the occupants of the van were invited to open the rear compartment door to carry out a more in-depth inspection of the transported goods.
At this point the aforementioned passenger, who turned out to be the owner of the business that took care of the shipment of the goods, approached the men in uniform and handed over a €50 banknote with unmistakable gestures, inviting them to accept money, all accompanied by a sneer and a wink.
The initiative, evidently aimed at convincing the soldiers operating not to carry out the activities of ascertaining the tax irregularities detected, found a prompt response from the yellow flames on duty who immediately interrupted their activity to accompany the subject to the barracks and proceed with the ritual activities of photo-signalling and reporting foreseen for the violation of the art. 322 of the Criminal Code – Incitement to corruption.
At the end of the operations the subject was released, while the banknote offered to the operators was seized.
The work of the military, in addition to underlining the solidity of the professional ethics that drives the daily commitment of the members of the Corps, highlights the need to guarantee a widespread and pervasive action to monitor and combat illicit conduct of an economic-financial nature, especially within the most developed production districts, so that they do not become the scene of broader and more generalized criminal phenomenologies.
