Italy arrests 30 in mafia-linked crypto money laundering crackdown

On October 21, 2026, Italian authorities arrested 30 suspects in a coordinated crackdown on a mafia-linked underground bank operating out of a car-rental firm near Milan. Led by the Guardia di Finanza and Anti-Mafia Directorate, the scheme funneled approximately €68 million abroad using €110 million in false invoices and cryptocurrency wallets. Linked to the 'Ndrangheta, Camorra, and Fourth Mafia, the network involved cross-border actions in Spain and Switzerland and seized assets exceeding €21 million.

Police operation and arrests

• ▪Italian authorities initiated asset seizures worth over €21 million, encompassing cash, bank accounts, vehicles, jewelry, and cryptocurrency holdings
• ▪Italian financial police units in Milan and Monza Brianza alongside the Anti-Mafia Directorate deployed over 350 officers on October 21, 2026, placing 16 suspects under custodial arrest and 14 under house arrest

Underground banking operation and mechanisms

• ▪On October 21, 2026, Italian authorities targeted 30 suspects accused of running an underground bank out of a car-rental business in Pero, near Milan, that transferred about €68 million abroad
• ▪Two Chinese nationals allegedly assisted an underground money laundering network near Milan by collecting cash stemming primarily from tax offenses
• ▪The alleged shadow bank run through a car-rental business in Pero, near Milan, combined cash from drug trafficking, tax offenses, and crypto investment scams, transferring funds through banks in Luxembourg, Lithuania, and Germany into cryptocurrency wallets
• ▪The criminal network behind a car-rental business in Pero used shell companies to issue over €110 million in false invoices, enabling complicit businesses in construction and logistics to reduce taxable income and receive cash returns minus a commission

Mafia ties and use of proceeds

• ▪Investigators linked the underground money laundering network run through a car-rental business in Pero to Italy's 'Ndrangheta, Camorra, and Fourth Mafia organizations, alongside Chinese and Albanian accomplices
• ▪Proceeds from the underground network run through a car-rental business in Pero were allegedly used to support imprisoned 'Ndrangheta members and supply vehicles and weapons to criminal associates in southern Italy

Corruption and legal figures involved

• ▪Italian police arrested a Milan-based lawyer in October 2026 as part of a mafia-linked money laundering investigation into a car-rental business in Pero
• ▪Milan prosecutors implicated a court driver accused of corruption for leaking information about ongoing investigations and handling seized assets