The Court of Review of Catanzaro has canceled the preventive seizure of over 5.9 million euros ordered against Francesco Perri and Pasquale Perri, investigated as part of the investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Lamezia Terme into the so-called “Perri Group”.
The provision had been carried out in recent days by the Catanzaro Financial Police on behalf of the Lametina Prosecutor’s Office. According to the accusation, the two brothers, believed to be de facto and de jure administrators of the group companies, would have issued invoices for non-existent operations for over 110 million euros between 2010 and 2020, obtaining an illicit profit linked to the evasion of VAT and IRES taxes.
The investigation
According to the reconstruction of the Prosecutor’s Office, the companies attributable to the Perri brothers would have emptied the Nuova Nave srl company through invoices relating to “prizes” and “promotional contributions”, causing its collapse and subsequent bankruptcy declared by the Court of Lamezia Terme in 2021.
The two entrepreneurs were charged with the crimes of issuing and using invoices for non-existent transactions and self-laundering.
The Review decision
The defenders, lawyers Salvatore Staiano, Aldo Ferraro and Michele Cerminara, challenged the provision before the Court of Review, maintaining the full regularity of the contested operations.
Through documentation and technical consultancy, the defense highlighted that the invoices would have been issued in the context of contractual relationships actually existing between the group companies and Nuova Nave srl, also underlining how the recognition of commercial bonuses represents a widespread practice in large-scale food distribution.
With the decision adopted today, the Court fully accepted the defense arguments, ordering the restitution of the assets and company shares seized from the Perri brothers.