Translated text (from Italian)
The soldiers of the Special Currency Police of the Guardia di Finanza and the provincial command of Brescia are at this time running the seizure of 21 money transfer agencies in Brescia and its province, suspected of having cleaned up money from drug trafficking and illegal immigration, receiving and illegal financial activity.
Surveys conducted about a year ago by the Guardia di Finanza, coordinated by Deputy Attorney Office at the Court of Brescia, focused around 30 million transfers of funds via money transfer.
The investigators, starting from the reality of Brescia, have unearthed what appears to be a real gap through which recycled would be very heavy sums of cash.
Were acquired evidence of systematic violation of money laundering legislation, which made it impossible to identify the actual owners of large flows of money, in many cases proved from crime.
The investigations were then directed to a higher level, through the acquisition by the Special Unit Currency Police of information on transactions taking place through the circuits of money transfer referring to 11 leading institutions of national payment: were analyzed transactions between 2010 and 2011 for a total of about € 10 billion, more than a third of which it was impossible to trace the actual senders and receivers.
An abyss massively exploited to circulate money of dubious origin.
The Guardia di Finanza have been joined for analysis by officials of the Bank of Italy and supported by technicians to process tens of millions of data.
The investigations, which have not yet been completed, revealed that 35% of the flows of money already occurred was the result of money laundering from drug trafficking and illegal immigration, receiving stolen property and unauthorized financial activity, in a pattern that sees the contribution fundamental of financial agents in the area.
The attention of the investigators focused on the role of payment institutions, the outcomes data that does not seem to have put in place the necessary safeguards against money laundering to prevent the dangerous phenomenon.
Press release link from Guardia di Finanza (in Italian): click here (translated in English: click here)