Italian police arrest 30 over alleged mafia bank, seize €21 million

ANSA reported on Wednesday that Italian police arrested 30 people accused of operating an underground bank for organized crime from a car-rental business near Milan. ANSA reported that police seized €21 million (about $23.6 million) in assets, including cash, bank balances, cryptocurrency, boats, jewelry and luxury watches. Police say the alleged bank served figures from the 'Ndrangheta and Camorra, transferring money abroad and into cryptocurrency.

The Guardia di Finanza, Italy's financial police, conducted the operation under orders from Milan's anti-mafia prosecutors. The operation targeted suspects linked to the 'Ndrangheta, the Camorra and organized crime groups based in Foggia in southern Italy. Authorities took 16 suspects into custody and placed 14 under house arrest. The arrests included two people in Spain and one in Switzerland.

Investigators say three Italians ran the business in Pero, on Milan's outskirts. Investigators identified two operators as longstanding contacts of 'Ndrangheta clans from Crotone, both with convictions from previous mafia investigations. Investigators identified the third operator as a member of the Camorra's Casalesi clan. Prosecutors said accomplices from China and Albania helped run the network.

Prosecutors say the network generated more than €110 million in fraudulent invoices through shell companies for services that were never delivered. Businesses used the invoices to reduce tax bills. The businesses transferred payments through banks and received cash back after a commission was deducted. Prosecutors say the network transferred about €68 million abroad.

Bloomberg reported that money collected in shell-company accounts went to banks in Luxembourg, Lithuania and Germany before passing through cryptocurrency exchanges into network-controlled wallets. Bloomberg reported that drug traffickers exchanged cash for cryptocurrency or international bank transfers. Bloomberg also reported that the network processed money stolen from people targeted by online cryptocurrency investment scams.

The Guardia di Finanza's technology fraud unit assisted the investigation. A court order exceeding 500 pages sets out the investigation. LaC News24 reported that authorities arrested a Guardia di Finanza inspector and placed the inspector under house arrest on corruption charges. Investigators also accused a Milan court employee of disclosing information about active investigations. A lawyer and a former financial police member are also involved in the case.

Italy's authorities have warned for years about organized crime adopting digital assets. In 2021, Italy's Anti-Mafia Investigative Directorate said all criminal organizations, including mafia organizations, were interested in using such instruments for business. The directorate said the 'Ndrangheta was becoming increasingly familiar with cryptocurrency and the deep web.