Key Takeaways
- Italy’s Guardia di Finanza uncovered a mafia-linked bank processing more than €110 million in fake invoices.
- Investigators say the network moved €68 million abroad using banks, crypto exchanges and digital wallets.
- Italian authorities ordered restrictions on 30 suspects and seized approximately €21 million in assets.
Italian Mafia’s Secret Bank Moved €68M Abroad Using Crypto
ANSA reported that a car-rental business outside Milan allegedly served as a secret bank for some of Italy’s most powerful mafia organizations. Italian financial police uncovered a criminal network responsible for more than €110 million ($128 million) in fraudulent invoices and approximately €68 million ($79 million) in international money transfers, some involving cryptocurrency.
Announced Oct. 21, 2026, the operation involved arrests across multiple countries and the seizure of roughly €21 million ($24 million) in assets. Investigators say the underground banking operation ran for approximately three years.
A Car-Rental Shop With a Secret Banking Business
The Italian daily newspaper La Stampa detailed that Italy’s Guardia di Finanza identified the alleged headquarters in Pero, near Milan, where prosecutors say three men, Giuseppe Piscioneri, Paolo Pelaggi and Luigi Mercadante, directed the operation.
The suspects reportedly maintained connections to the ‘Ndrangheta, Camorra and Foggia mafia organizations, working alongside Chinese and Albanian associates. Investigators described a surprisingly organized operation, complete with spreadsheets tracking transactions, professional cash-counting machines, and couriers transporting enormous amounts of money.
Fake Invoices, Real Cash and Cryptocurrency
The scheme relied on businesses paying shell companies for services that never existed. Those payments created false expenses that could reduce taxes, while couriers returned cash to customers after deducting commissions of 2% to 5%.
Money remaining in company accounts traveled through European banks before reaching cryptocurrency exchanges and digital wallets controlled by the network. Some transactions involved the stablecoin USDT, a cryptocurrency designed to maintain a value of $1. Authorities also traced proceeds from drug trafficking and online cryptocurrency investment scams.
Mafia Money Funded Prisoners and Weapons
Investigators allege some proceeds supported imprisoned mafia members and helped finance weapons purchases. The operation resulted in 16 detention orders and 14 house-arrest orders, with actions extending into Spain and Switzerland. More than 350 officers participated. A financial police inspector also faces corruption allegations involving a €3,000 payment.
The investigation remains active, and the accusations have not been established at trial. Behind the car-rental storefront, prosecutors say, organized crime had built a financial institution of its own.
