Italian car rental firm accused of serving as mafia underground bank in crypto laundering case
Italian prosecutors say a car rental business in Pero, near Milan, functioned as an underground bank shared by the ’Ndrangheta and the Camorra, helping move proceeds tied to drug trafficking, tax evasion and online investment fraud into cryptocurrency. Authorities announced the operation on Oct. 21, 2026, saying 30 people were placed under arrest measures and assets worth €21 million were seized, including cash, deposits, crypto, boats, jewelry and luxury watches. The Milan anti-mafia prosecutor’s office coordinated raids carried out by more than 350 finance police officers across Italy. Of the 30 suspects, 16 were jailed and 14 were placed under house arrest. Spanish police executed European arrest warrants and detained two people, while another suspect was being pursued in Switzerland. Prosecutors, as cited by Bloomberg, said the case involved more than €110 million in false invoices and roughly €68 million sent abroad. Investigators described a four-step laundering system built around cash collection, shell companies, fake invoices, cash kickbacks and, at the end of the chain, conversion into cryptocurrency through exchanges. The case also reaches into public institutions, with allegations involving a finance police inspector and a court employee accused of leaking confidential investigative information.
