Key facts
- An underground bank facilitating illicit financial flows for drug traffickers has been dismantled by Italian police.
- The operation, based in Prato, is estimated to have moved €80-100 million annually for at least three years.
- The network provided secure and anonymous channels for drug-related payments across Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
- Clients included Albanian trafficking organizations and the Italian mafia.
- The organization also operated a lucrative illegal immigration network from China to Italy.
- Forty-one individuals were arrested in Italy and Spain in connection with the network.
Italian authorities have dismantled a sophisticated underground banking operation that facilitated hundreds of millions of euros in illicit transactions for drug traffickers and organised crime groups. The network, which operated from Prato, a city with a large Chinese community and a significant textile industry, managed to move an estimated €80-100 million annually for at least three years.
Officials stated the operation functioned as a "global broker at the service of organised crime," providing secure channels for payments related to large drug consignments without physical cash movement and ensuring the anonymity of financial flows. The circuit involved a network of intermediaries across Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, each retaining a commission.
Clients of this hard-to-trace system included Albanian trafficking organizations and the Italian mafia. The investigation also uncovered a parallel operation run by the organization that managed a "lucrative illegal immigration network from China," charging migrants up to €9,500 for journeys to Italy.
Police announced the arrest of 41 individuals in Italy and Spain connected to the network, facing charges including criminal conspiracy, drug trafficking, money laundering, and aiding illegal immigration. Investigations also revealed the exploitation of workers within Prato's textile industry, with some paid as little as €3 per hour for 13-hour workdays.