The town of Moggio Udinese has around 1,600 inhabitants. As it occupies a mountainous territory, at the foot of the Julian Alps, which separate Italy from Austria, most of the houses are concentrated in a few streets. Two of them are known, at least on paper, by more than 80 Brazilians who saw their Italian citizenship recognized between 2018 and 2024.
According to an investigation opened by the police and now entrusted to the public prosecutor, a house in Via Abbazia and another in Via Traversigne were falsely indicated as the place of residence of Brazilians who obtained citizenship there by blood. The two addresses are located approximately 100 meters from the town hall, which is responsible for the procedures.
Six people – four city administration employees, a Brazilian and an Albanian – were charged over the alleged scheme. A notification from the prosecutor’s office to persons under investigation, to which the Leaf had access, claims that this group “falsely proved the existence”, in these two properties, of “usual housing situations” for Brazilians of Italian origin. With this, it guarantees “the legal conditions necessary for registration in the registers of the resident population and, therefore, for the successive application and obtaining of the status of Italian citizen iure Sanguinis (right of blood)” for them and their minor children.
In total, the document indicates, 83 Brazilians have had their citizenship recognized, without ever having actually resided in Moggio Udinese. “Some even came (to town), but few. They stayed for a few days, did some sightseeing and left,” he said. Leaf the prosecutor Giorgio Milillo, from Udine, responsible for the case. The investigation indicates that Brazilians who passed through the city stayed for two to five days, but it remains unclear exactly how many were actually there.
In the case of Moggio Udinese, the beneficiaries would have forged this resident status to continue the process. According to the public prosecutor, they would have paid €6,500 (R$41,300) to obtain citizenship in this way, including the fictitious residence permit. It is not clear how this value was calculated in the case of large families or families with children. However, these Brazilians are not the target of the investigation.
The only Brazilian charged is Sergio Luiz Garana, 54, who is believed to reside in the Veneto region, also in northern Italy. He is designated as the owner of one of the properties serving as a fictitious residence for his compatriots. For investigators, Garana worked with a woman of Albanian origin to organize the project.
The duo, according to the investigation, indicated to the town hall the two houses in Moggio Udinese as accommodation for Brazilians, referred to in the documents as “clients”. He then issued documents to obtain Italian citizenship on their behalf, including forms showing signs of forgery, and helped the clients arrange short trips to Italy. The two men maintained “personal and constant” relationships with town hall employees, according to the prosecution.
A clue that the city’s houses were faked, says the public prosecutor, is that the documentation submitted to the town hall contained “gross falsifications” and “incongruous delays”. Cases have been identified in which the issuance of the tax code (equivalent to the CPF) took place before the arrival of Brazilians in Italy, in addition to citizenship applications without a date and with “clearly falsified” signatures.
In addition, police identified quarterly rental contracts with false tenant signatures and signature and registration dates prior to the supposed arrival of the Brazilians.
At the other end of the system, town hall employees are suspected of having falsified checks on the presence of Brazilians in the two houses designated as their personal addresses. One of the requirements for obtaining a certificate of residence is an on-site inspection by an agent. “Some (Brazilians) were even checked, but the vast majority were not,” explains prosecutor Milillo.
If they become accused, those under investigation will be liable for the crime of ideological lying in public documents. The penalty is one to six years in prison, but the aggravating circumstance of repeat offense can triple the penalty.
THE Leaf He contacted Garana and his lawyer, but received no response. The report found social media profiles in his name, in which he appears as “general manager” of the company Cidadania Italiana Garana, in business since 1997. The website is offline and no Italian phone number appears to be nonexistent. On Facebook, next to the name appears the inscription “goodbye”. One of the lawyers identified in the Public Prosecutor’s notice as Garana’s defender declared that he no longer worked in the region and designated another professional. On several occasions, this second attorney did not answer the office phone or email.
Anyone who does not reside in Italy must apply for citizenship by blood at the consulate of the country in which they reside. However, faced with waiting lists that reach ten years, as in the Italian representation in São Paulo, spending time in the European country as a resident has become an alternative to speed up the process which, according to the rules, usually lasts around six months.
Called administrative recognition of citizenship, this method of temporary stay in Italy is regulated by the rules of the Ministry of the Interior. According to a 1991 circular, the status of Italian citizen must be “certified by the mayor of the municipality of residence”, and the procedure can only be initiated if the person concerned is “registered in the register of resident population”.
When a person arrives to live in Italy or changes their address internally, they must register or update their data with the town hall. An official proof of address – required for example for other documents or access to public services – is accompanied by a certificate issued by the town hall or the Ministry of the Interior.
The current management of Moggio Udinese is not involved, but the mayor, Martina Gallizia, declined to be interviewed. “As the investigation is ongoing, I prefer not to make any statement,” he wrote in an email.
For prosecutor Melillo, the scheme could have taken place in any other small town in Italy. “They have fewer employees and fewer opportunities for internal controls. In a bigger city, it’s harder to do that with more people controlling you.” The public prosecutor’s complaint and a possible opening of a case before the courts should take place in the coming months.
In the list of those whose citizenship was recognized according to this modality, the report identified 19 Brazilians who would be from the same family, all with the surname Floresi or Florezi. There are three generations, aged 6 to 71.
For 10 of the 19 names, the dates of declaration of residence and registration on the list of residents of the Moggio Udinese town hall are exactly the same as those of the applications for Italian citizenship, all in 2019. The first person would have been registered in January, four others in July (all the same day) and five others in December (also a single day).
Eight names on the list were under 18 at the time, suggesting they were the children of the adults who were granted citizenship and therefore would have automatically gained recognition.
On average, people with the surname Floresi/Florezi obtained the Italian citizenship certificate five months after the date of declaration of presumed residence in Moggio Udinese. With this paper in hand, they can create other documents, such as a passport. A few months later, the residence of these Brazilians was transferred abroad – the investigation files do not indicate where.
THE Leaf spoke on the phone and exchanged messages with a family member who lives in São Paulo. She declined to give an interview and said the citizenship process went smoothly. He also did not respond to a list of 21 questions sent by the journalist about how the process was going.
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