Italian police smash €4.5 billion online gambling money laundering operation, arresting 68.
Italian police have smashed a massive money laundering operation connected to online gambling, resulting in the arrest of 68 people.
In total, 23 foreign and 15 Italian companies operating in the gaming and betting sectors have been subject to investigation, together with 24 buildings, 7 vehicles, 33 Italian and international gambling websites, and “countless” Italian and foreign business and personal bank accounts, totaling over €723 million.
The multi-national operation involved investigators from the Guardia di Finanza, Polizia and Carabinieri, the co-operation of Eurojust and law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man, Netherlands, Curacao, Serbia, Albania, Spain and Malta.
So far, authorities have seized more than €1 billion worth of assets and cash, and those arrested include Ndrangheta mafia bosses, businessmen and shareholders in the front companies. In addition to tax evasion and illicit profits, apparently, dirty money was being channeled through online betting businesses, and then reinvested in real estate and other businesses in a highly sophisticated operation.
The front company/companies are said to have conducted business worth €4.5 billion, with media reports suggesting strong links to Malta.
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