Çin, Arnavut ve İtalyan mafyasının hayalet bankası Prato'da keşfedildi

'Ghost bank' discovered, moving €100 million a year in drugs and goods

(ANSA) - ROME, JUN 15 - An illegal 'ghost bank' run by the Chinese, Albanian and Italian mafia has been discovered in the Tuscan city of Prato, allegedly capable of moving between €80 and €100 million a year in phantom payments for drugs and goods between Italy and foreign countries. Three criminal organizations allegedly benefited from it: one for laundering drug money, one for international drug trafficking, and the third for illegal Chinese immigration. The bank used the untraceable Islamic payment system 'hawala', known in China as 'chop-shop'. It was used by Italian, Chinese, and Albanian clans, police said. The investigating judge ordered a seizure of €60 million and 41 precautionary measures, including 17 prison sentences and 16 house arrests. According to the Florence DDA and the Prato prosecutor's office, the investigations identified an organization capable of providing financial services for both drug trafficking payments and illegal goods transactions between Chinese companies, with "high levels of professionalism and risk." Between international drug trafficking and tax crimes, the DDA estimates the illegal capacity at €80-100 million per year for at least three years of criminal activity. A dense network of money couriers and collectors traveled between Italy and abroad—Spain, France, and Portugal—to facilitate the payments. To prevent drug money from circulating—at risk of seizure during police checks in various countries—the transactions were also conducted using cash flow (all "black") from Chinese fast-fashion textile companies, based on the relationships between the factories in Prato—Europe's main Chinese-run textile district—and the production hubs on the Iberian Peninsula (fast-fashion firms in Madrid, Malaga, Valencia, and Seville). The prosecutor's office uncovered a close business connection between the organization's top management—which acted as financial brokers—and Albanian groups needing to launder drug trafficking proceeds and who were its "clients." The investigating judge found the aggravating circumstance of mafia facilitation, also because the Briganti clan of Lecce (Sacra Corona Unita), the 'ndrina Fiare-Razionale-Gasparro of San Gregorio d'Ippona (Vibo Valentia), and the Camorra clan Aquino-Annunziata allegedly received black market payment services from the shell bank. The group accused of illegal immigration from China consists of Chinese nationals who smuggled their fellow countrymen into Italy through Serbia, which is not part of the Schengen area and does not require entry visas for Chinese nationals. They were housed in Chinese hotels in Belgrade, then transported to Italy via Hungary and Slovenia, with final destinations in Prato, Turin, and Sommacampagna (Verona). They profited €9,500 from each migrant. (ANSA). Read article...