As part of greater action against financial crime Italian authorities uncovered a massive tax fraud scheme involving 85 people and fake invoices worth €1.7 billion.. This illicit activity is reportedly carried out by unlicensed Chinese financial institutions, called and facilitated through a network of shadow banks.
The Italian financial police Guardia di Finanza (GdF) carried out the operation in Ancona, a strategic port city on the Adriatic coast. GdF efforts This led to the confiscation of assets worth a total of 350 million euros.
This was among other actions taken by law enforcement agencies Freezing 1,569 bank accounts and issuing seizure orders on 140 companies involved in creating fake accounts.. Home searches were also carried out in several locations, such as Milan, the greater Lombardy region, Florence, Padua and Sicily.
According to documents obtained by Reuters Among those involved in the scam were 64 Chinese citizens. Sources familiar with the investigation indicated that efforts are underway to identify Italian clients who used these services for money laundering purposes.
Prosecutors in Ancona discovered that so-called “paper companies” were at the center of the system. These organizations issued false invoices and directed customers to deposit money into specific Italian bank accounts. When the money was received, the shell companies transferred the corresponding amounts to Chinese bank accounts under the pretext of paying for imports of non-existent goods.
The Public Development Fund confirmed that this advanced system enabled customers to recover the original amounts – after deducting the commission – in cash via courier. this The underground banking network has been identified as a channel for laundering billions of euros.
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