Italian police have dismantled a shadow bank serving organised crime, run from a car rental company near Milan. Thirty people were arrested and 21 million euros seized, roughly $23.6 million. The case shows how cryptocurrency platforms served as one link in a laundering chain that stretched well beyond Italy’s borders.
๐ Key takeaways
- 30 people arrested in Italy, Spain and Switzerland, 16 of them held in pretrial detention
- 21 million euros (about $23.6 million) seized, with the exact crypto share not disclosed
- More than 110 million euros in false invoices and about 68 million euros transferred abroad, according to prosecutors
- Exchange platforms were used to route funds to wallets controlled by the network
A parallel bank operating outside Milan
According to Italian news agency ANSA, investigators uncovered a network functioning as a parallel bank for several criminal organisations. Its operational hub was in Pero, on the outskirts of Milan, behind the facade of a car rental business. The operation was carried out by the Guardia di Finanza, Italy’s financial police, under orders from Milan’s anti-mafia prosecutors.
The suspects were allegedly linked to the ‘Ndrangheta, the Camorra and criminal groups based in Foggia, in southern Italy. Investigators say the structure was run by three Italians: two long-standing contacts of ‘Ndrangheta clans from Crotone, both already convicted in earlier mafia cases, and a member of the Casalesi clan of the Camorra. Chinese and Albanian accomplices reportedly helped run the network day to day.
Of the 30 people arrested, 16 were placed in pretrial detention and 14 under judicial supervision. Arrests also took place in Spain, where two people were detained, and in Switzerland, where one more person was arrested. Investigators set out their findings in a court order running to more than 500 pages.
Shell companies and fake invoices
The scheme relied on shell companies that billed for services never provided. These fake invoices allowed client businesses to reduce their tax bills artificially. Clients paid by bank transfer, after which part of the sum was returned in cash, minus a commission retained by the network.
| Indicator | Amount | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| People arrested | 30 | 16 in pretrial detention, 14 under judicial supervision |
| Assets seized | 21 million euros (about $23.6 million) | Cash, bank balances, cryptocurrencies, boats, jewellery and luxury watches |
| False invoices | More than 110 million euros | Services billed but never delivered |
| Funds sent abroad | About 68 million euros | Banks in Luxembourg, Lithuania and Germany |
Prosecutors estimate the network moved about 68 million euros abroad. Bloomberg reports that funds accumulating in the shell companies’ accounts were sent to banks in Luxembourg, Lithuania and Germany, then routed through cryptocurrency exchange platforms to wallets controlled by the network. This two-layer path, banking then crypto, makes tracing flows harder for authorities.
“all criminal organisations, including mafia-type ones, are interested in using these instruments for their business”
Italy’s Anti-Mafia Investigative Directorate (DIA), 2021 report
Crypto’s role in the circuit
Cryptocurrency had a specific function in the setup. The system offered drug traffickers who handed over cash a counterpart, paid either in cryptocurrency or through international bank transfers. The network also handled funds stolen from victims of online crypto investment scams, placing it at the intersection of organised crime and digital fraud.
The operating cycle, as investigators describe it, can be summarised in five steps:
- Shell companies issue false invoices for fictitious services.
- Client businesses settle the invoices by bank transfer.
- Part of the money is returned in cash, minus a commission.
- The accumulated funds are sent to banks in Luxembourg, Lithuania and Germany.
- Exchange platforms route the funds to crypto wallets controlled by the network.
The source does not specify the crypto share of the total seized, the valuation of the assets, the identity of the digital assets involved or the exchange platforms used. That gap makes it hard to assess how much of the laundered volume actually ran through crypto.
Alleged complicity inside institutions
The most sensitive element concerns alleged complicity within the institutions meant to fight financial crime. According to the Calabrian outlet LaC News24, a Guardia di Finanza inspector, already under judicial supervision on corruption charges, is among those arrested.
Authorities also accuse a Milan court employee of leaking information about ongoing investigations. A lawyer and a former financial police officer are also among those involved. These accusations have yet to be tested in court, but they highlight the vulnerability of oversight systems when insiders hold privileged access to case files.
Outlook and scenarios
No measurable market reaction, no price move in any cryptocurrency and no quantified impact on the digital asset sector have been reported so far. The case is therefore primarily a financial crime and compliance story rather than a market event. It does, however, reinforce the role of exchange platforms as a central checkpoint in anti-money-laundering supervision, particularly for cross-border flows.
Three scenarios can be considered. In the first, the proceedings end in convictions that strengthen Italian case law on crypto-assisted laundering, adding pressure on platforms to verify the origin of funds. In the second, the investigation uncovers a larger crypto share than currently known, which would require revising estimates of the flows involved. In the third, the case remains confined to one identified network with no notable effect on sector practices. In every case, the EU’s MiCA framework, which tightens obligations for crypto-asset service providers, is the decisive backdrop.
Sources
- Decrypt, Italy Busts Mafia Secret Bank That Laundered Money Through Crypto
- ANSA, Italian news agency (source for the seized amounts and the operation)
- Bloomberg (flows to Luxembourg, Lithuania and Germany)
- LaC News24, Calabrian outlet (information on those arrested)
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