A major corruption scandal has erupted in the Italian town of San Remo. For several years, local council officials and immigration officers have been selling Italian passports, and residence permits to foreigners in exchange for bribes of €5,000 or more. The police and the Genoa public prosecutor’s office are conducting a large-scale operation, during which three employees of the city’s department for foreign nationals have already been arrested.
The scheme was simple: in exchange for money, migrants from North Africa, the Middle East and Asia were issued with forged certificates of residence, employment and integration, as well as fictitious marriages. In this way, foreigners obtained documents through a fast-track process, bypassing the legal procedures that usually take several years.
The mayor of San Remo condemned the actions of his subordinates and promised severe punishment for those found guilty. The Italian Ministry of the Interior announced a comprehensive audit of the migration services in Liguria. The investigation is ongoing, with investigators determining the exact number of documents issued illegally.