Italy seizes €21 million in alleged mafia crypto laundering case

• Italian authorities arrested 30 suspects and ordered seizures exceeding €21 million in an investigation into an alleged mafia-linked underground bank.
• Investigators linked the network to more than €110 million in false invoices and around €68 million in international money transfers involving cryptocurrency.
• The case highlights how investigators allege criminal networks used shell companies, overseas accounts and crypto exchanges to move illicit funds.

Italy’s financial police have arrested 30 suspects over an alleged underground bank serving mafia groups near Milan.

The operation targeted suspected links to the ’Ndrangheta, Camorra and organised crime groups from Foggia, with arrests extending to Spain and Switzerland.

Investigators allege the network issued more than €110 million in false invoices and moved approximately €68 million abroad.

The alleged scheme used shell companies to generate fictitious invoices, allowing businesses to reduce reported taxable income before receiving money back in cash.

Investigators say funds moved through bank accounts in Luxembourg, Lithuania and Germany before passing through cryptocurrency exchanges into wallets controlled by the network.

The seizure order covered more than €21 million in assets, including cash, bank balances, cryptocurrency, vehicles, boats, jewellery and luxury watches.

The investigation also involves alleged corruption and information leaks, with a financial police inspector and a Milan court employee among those implicated.

The case remains an ongoing criminal investigation, and the allegations against the suspects have not been established as convictions.