Naples – A complex underground banking system for laundering dirty money and defrauding the tax authorities, protected by unsuspecting entities, emerged. This is what emerged from an investigation by the Naples Public Prosecutor's Office, which led to the arrest of five people, placed under house arrest on charges of issuing invoices for non-existent transactions and money laundering.
The recipients of the precautionary order, signed by the investigating judge of the Naples Court, also include a member of the Carabinieri and an officer of the Naples Local Police.
The blitz and the kidnappings
The operation was conducted by the financial police of the Special Currency Police Unit, supported by the Naples Provincial Command. Fourteen searches were also conducted at dawn, including searches of private homes and businesses in various areas of Campania. The contribution of the canine units was crucial: thanks to the nose of the Guardia di Finanza's "cash dogs," €230,000 in cash was located and seized, some of which was cleverly hidden to evade inspection.
The mechanism of fraud
At the center of the investigation was an illicit business estimated at approximately €60 million in nominal value. The scheme revolved around a shell company, nominally active in the ferrous materials trade but in reality a veritable "shell factory." The mechanism was well-tested: companies requiring undeclared liquidity would make transfers to the shell company against false invoices.
The Money Route
Once the “clean” money was received via bank transfer, the paper company immediately diverted it to foreign bank accounts located in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Bulgaria and the Netherlands.
From there, through parallel and untraceable financial channels, the money returned to Italy in cash. The sums were finally returned to the entrepreneurs involved, minus a "commission" retained by the organization for the car wash service.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
It's incredible how law enforcement agencies manage to uncover such complex matters. But I wonder how it's possible that people in uniform could be involved in illegal activities and fraud. This raises questions about the security and transparency of institutions.