Caritas caught up in scandal of millions of ‘diverted’ euros

A charity set up to help migrants seeking asylum in Italy is suspected of involvement in an embezzlement scandal in which €4 million in funds meant for migrants were allegedly misappropriated. Caritas Italiana operations are also being ­investigated.

Police in Italy have placed eight people including a priest under formal investigation following the arrest of a couple who ran the charity that supported migrants at a centre north of Naples.

Alfonso De Martino and his fiancée, Rosa Carnevale, founders of the charity A Spare Wing, were detained accused of “skimming” public money intended to assist migrants. The couple allegedly claimed money for non-existent refugees and failed to pass on €2.50 in daily “pocket money”. Prosecutors allege Mr De Martino and his partner also charged the state €345,000 for operations that were never carried out.

Prosecutors in Naples say they suspect the involvement of four Caritas migrant centres in the province of Salerno.

Fr Vincenzo Federico, head of Caritas in the Campania region, is under investigation for embezzlement but denied the accusations saying they were “surreal”. “I have always sought to work to alleviate the suffering of these people,” he said.

Oliviero Forti, speaking for Caritas Italiana from Rome, told The Tablet that the president of A Spare Wing was not a consultant for Caritas, as had been reported, and that Fr Federico had told the Ministry of the Interior last year that the methods of distributing funds to refugees were inappropriate. The ministry had then amended its methods. This was why Fr Federico found the investigation “surreal”.

The investigation was triggered when Mr De Martino accused two Somali refugees of extortion when the men complained they had not been receiving their allowance.