The Carabinieri of the Operational Section and the Cryptocurrency Section of the Carabinieri Anti-Counterfeiting Command, in collaboration with the Public Prosecutor's Office of Naples - Economic Crime Section and with the support of Europol and the Austrian Central Investigation Service, They dismantled a criminal organization dedicated to the counterfeiting and sale of euros.
Four people, two residents in province of Brescia, one to Napoli and one already detained at the Viterbo prison, were arrested and charged, on various counts, with having produced, sold and marketed counterfeit banknotes abroad.
The investigations, launched in January 2022 following a report fromThe Austrian Central Investigation Service, led to the discovery of a sophisticated online sales system. The criminals used the Telegram platform to operate a marketplace called "Tanhus Market," where they offered counterfeit banknotes to customers in Italy and abroad. Payments were made in cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Monero, to ensure anonymity.
During the operation, the Carabinieri monitored over 57.000 messages on Telegram, deanonymizing the marketplace managers and identifying three other sales channels. Over 900 cryptocurrency payments worth over 200.000 euros were traced.
100 counterfeit euros from Napoli group seized
In several operations, over €100.000 in counterfeit banknotes, produced by the notorious "Napoli Group," were seized, and several buyers were arrested in the act. The counterfeit banknotes were of high quality and classified as "high-class" by the European Central Bank.
The operation, which demonstrated the effectiveness of international cooperation in fighting organized crime, dismantled a major euro counterfeiting network and protected the integrity of the European financial system.
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