Italy moves to arrest 30 people tied to alleged mafia underground bank using crypto

In this news:

Key takeaways

Italian authorities arrested 30 people in an operation targeting a mafia-linked underground bank.
The network allegedly used cryptocurrency and shell companies to launder roughly 68 million euros.
Investigators found bogus invoices exceeding 110 million euros and confiscated assets worth 21 million euros.

Italian authorities arrested 30 people on Wednesday in a case centered on an underground bank allegedly tied to the mafia, which sent roughly €68 million overseas and used crypto to launder illicit money, according to Bloomberg.

The Guardia di Finanza in Milan and Monza Brianza carried out the operation, coordinated by the Milan Anti-Mafia Directorate, according to Il Sole 24 Ore. The suspects are accused of belonging to a criminal association, with the use of mafia-style tactics treated as an aggravating factor. More than 350 officers took part, and authorities are in the process of confiscating assets worth €21 million, according to Il Sole 24 Ore.

Spanish police are serving European arrest warrants, and authorities in Switzerland are working to take one more suspect into custody, according to Bloomberg.

Operation of the front company and network

Investigators say a car-rental company in Pero, near Milan, served as a front for the bank, according to Il Sole 24 Ore. Three Italians ran it: two men who have long been associates of 'Ndrangheta groups in Crotone and a third who belongs to the Casalesi clan, according to Il Sole 24 Ore. Chinese and Albanian accomplices supported the network, according to Bloomberg.

Shell companies billed for services that were never delivered, helping firms in sectors such as logistics and construction shrink their tax bills, according to Bloomberg. Once those businesses had wired payment, the network handed the money back as cash after deducting a fee, according to Bloomberg. Couriers delivered the cash, which came from tax evasion and drug trafficking, according to Il Sole 24 Ore.

Money laundering through crypto and shell accounts

Funds sitting in the shell companies' accounts were sent on to lenders in Luxembourg, Lithuania and Germany, according to Bloomberg. They were then pushed through crypto exchanges and ended up in digital wallets that the organization controlled, according to Bloomberg.

Investigators found bogus invoices totaling more than €110 million, according to Il Sole 24 Ore. Funds taken from people who fell for online cryptocurrency investment scams also passed through the network, according to Bloomberg.

Some proceeds went toward supporting jailed 'Ndrangheta members, and vehicles and weapons were given to affiliates of a separate crime group based in the south of the country, according to Bloomberg.

Domenico Bruno, a driver at the Milan Preliminary Investigating Magistrate's Office who handled seized assets, is among those arrested, according to Il Sole 24 Ore. Bruno is under house arrest and faces an accusation of breaking into a computer system without authorization. A Milan lawyer is also named as being involved in the probe, according to Il Sole 24 Ore.

Share the article: