145 Italian mafiosi who were convicted of last resort and their relatives received a basic income, although they were not entitled to it. The fraud was discovered by the police in Sicily. As a result, the state suffered damage in the order of 1.2 million euros, the police said today.
The mafiosi who collected the minimum income were members of a notorious mafia clan and had been convicted of extortion, usury, drug trafficking, ill-treatment and arms trafficking, among other things.
The case sparked renewed criticism from the center-right parties, who have been calling for the abolition of the basic income of 780 euros introduced in 2019 for months. The National Institute for Social Welfare (INPS) promised thorough controls to prevent further fraud.
Criticism of Basic Income
The basic income, which was introduced in 2019 at the instigation of the populist five-star movement, is controversial among the Italian parties. Only a few of the 1.2 million recipients of basic income would have received job or further training offers, as stipulated by the law. Reports that mafiosi and other criminals received the basic income had recently caused a scandal.
The Five Star Movement, Italy’s strongest single party in parliament, is defending the basic income and lamenting a campaign to sabotage this instrument, which is used to support low-income families. The opposition Forza Italia described the basic income as a „blatant flop“. The time has come to change the reform.
