Italian police shut down underground bank associated with mafia and drug trafficking networks

Police announced Monday that Italian authorities had shut down a major illegal bank operating underground, which routed up to 100 million euros ($116 million) a year toward operations for drug traffickers at home and abroad and organized crime syndicates.

The illicit bank, operated since 2021 by a Chinese national, is believed to have processed payments between 80 and 100 million euros ($93-116 million) a year over at least a three-year period. Headquartered in the Tuscan city of Prato, the bank had established branches in Spain, Portugal, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. According to investigators, among the bank’s clients were the Italian mafia organizations ’Ndrangheta, Camorra, and Sacra Corona Unita.

The crackdown resulted in a Florence investigating judge issuing 41 arrest warrants for Italian, Chinese, and Albanian nationals and the seizure of assets worth over 60 million euros ($69.6 million).