Italian Police Arrest 30 in Raid on Secret Mafia Bank That Used Fake Invoices and Crypto to Wash Drug and Tax Money

Investigators say the network linked three mafia groups, using shell companies and cash couriers to move illicit proceeds across borders.

Italian financial police arrested 30 people on Oct. 21 in an investigation into an alleged underground bank that used false invoices, cash couriers and cryptocurrency to launder money linked to drug trafficking and tax fraud. The operation centered on a car-rental company in Pero, near Milan, which investigators say served as a hub for a network connected to three Italian organized crime groups.

The Milan Anti-Mafia District Directorate coordinated the operation. Authorities ordered 16 people into pretrial detention and placed 14 under house arrest. They also ordered urgent preventive seizures targeting assets worth more than 21 million euros. Investigators identified more than 110 million euros in allegedly false invoices and approximately 68 million euros in international transfers associated with the network.

The precautionary measures do not amount to convictions in the current case.

How the Alleged Financial Network Operated

Investigators say the network collected cash from different criminal activities, including drug trafficking and tax evasion, then moved funds through companies that issued invoices for transactions that never occurred. Italian reports described these entities as cartiere, or paper companies, operating in Lombardy and Campania.

Businesses allegedly paid the invoices by bank transfer before the money was returned in cash, minus a commission of 2% to 5%. Known as retrocessione, the process gave funds an apparently legitimate commercial trail while returning cash to the network. One figure linked to drug trafficking reportedly delivered more than 5 million euros through couriers. Chinese associates were allegedly involved in collecting money connected to tax-related schemes.

Investigators traced transfers to accounts in Luxembourg, Lithuania and Germany, with further reported movements toward Asia, Canada and South America. Cryptocurrency was another alleged route, alongside conventional international transfers. The inquiry also examined funds linked to online cryptocurrency investment scams, but public reporting has not established what proportion of the approximately 68 million euros in transfers moved through digital assets.

Suspected Leaders and Mafia Connections

Italian reports identified Giuseppe Piscioneri, Paolo Pelaggi and Luigi Mercadante as central figures in the alleged network. Investigators described links to the ’Ndrangheta, based in Calabria; the Camorra, including figures associated with the Casalesi clan; and organized crime groups in the Foggia area, sometimes called the Fourth Mafia.

Mercadante was previously convicted in a case connected to the Casalesi clan. That conviction is separate from the allegations in the current investigation and does not establish his guilt in this case.

The network allegedly handled money for clients linked to several criminal groups. Some proceeds reportedly went to a fund supporting imprisoned mafia members. Italian reporting also described allegations that money or services helped provide weapons or vehicles to groups in the Foggia area. Chinese and Albanian associates were reportedly involved in cash handling and cross-border operations.

More than 350 Guardia di Finanza personnel took part in the operation. Enforcement activity extended to Spain and Switzerland, with support from Interpol’s I-CAN project, which focuses on international cooperation against the ’Ndrangheta.

Court Employee Accused of Leaking Investigation Details

The investigation also implicated an employee associated with Milan’s judicial system. Domenico Bruno, a driver and employee connected to the office of a preliminary investigations judge, was placed under house arrest over allegations that he accessed judicial computer systems without authorization. Italian reports said he allegedly sent screenshots of a register of suspects to people linked to the network through Signal.

A Milan lawyer was also implicated, according to Italian reporting. Bruno was separately linked to an inquiry into an attempted release of nearly 980,000 euros from the Fondo Unico Giustizia, a fund holding certain seized and confiscated assets, to a person connected to the ’Ndrangheta. These allegations remain distinct from any final judicial finding.

Regional reporting also described a Guardia di Finanza inspector facing house arrest over allegations that he exchanged confidential tax information for payments. The claims add a suspected public-sector corruption element to a case focused on the movement of illicit funds.

The Case Moves Beyond the Arrests

According to reports on the judicial order, investigators believe the network could replace companies that became unusable with new entities, allowing the alleged operation to continue. Its reported methods combined cash collection, fabricated commercial transactions, international transfers and cryptocurrency rather than relying on a single laundering route.

The case now turns on the evidence supporting the allegations and the proceedings that follow the precautionary measures. The public reporting reviewed does not identify the specific cryptocurrency wallets or exchanges involved, leaving the digital-asset trail less clearly documented than the alleged invoice and bank-transfer mechanisms.