Drug gang using shadow Chinese money brokers uncovered, $86 million seized, Italian police say
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An undated handout photo obtained in January showing seized money that was laundered through a Chinese shadow banking service in Italy.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MILAN – The Italian police said on Sept 25 they arrested 61 people across four countries and seized €60 million (S$86 million) following an investigation into international drug trafficking and money laundering.
The case revealed criminal drug ties between Albania and Latin America, and once again showed how criminals in Europe are using shadow networks of illicit Chinese money brokers, the police said.
Finance police in the northern Italian city of Brescia said at least 400 officers carried out the arrests and searches in Italy, Albania, Switzerland and Poland, with the cooperation of local law enforcement and European police body Europol.
The criminal gang was based in Albania, imported cocaine into Europe from South America via commercial shipping routes and then transported it to Italy on trucks, the police said.
The cash from the drug sale was handed over to a parallel Chinese syndicate, which allegedly offered a shadow banking service to transfer the illicit capital abroad.
“The drug money flowed through a Chinese citizen living near Brescia into a complex money laundering system aimed at monetising false invoices issued by compliant Italian entrepreneurs,” the police said.
The case is just the latest of several operations that, over the past two years, have uncovered sophisticated shadow banking systems operated by Chinese nationals and used by a wide variety of criminal organisations.
According to various investigations that have emerged so far, this system is used by drug traffickers both to pay their overseas suppliers and to launder money through the cover of false invoices.
The police said on Sept 25 they started their latest probe in 2020, making use of tools that allowed the contents of encrypted chats to be read, as well as telephone, ambient and telematic wiretaps, and surveillance.
In addition to the latest arrests, the police said 21 people have already been detained in recent months in the course of the investigation, with €2.5 million of cash and 360kg of drugs, worth approximately €30 million, seized. REUTERS
