Police on Thursday arrested nine people in an investigation into alleged fraud against the non-profit organisation that manages Florence Cathedral.
State Police executed arrest warrants issued by the Brescia Public Prosecutor’s Office across seven provinces, including Brescia, Milan, Bergamo, Lodi, Prato, Rieti, and Vicenza. The suspects are Italian, Albanian, Chinese, and Nigerian. They are under investigation for issuing invoices for non-existent transactions, money laundering, and self-laundering, according to judicial sources.
Police said the alleged fraud against the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore “netted €30 million in six months.” The organisation oversees the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Giotto’s Bell Tower, and the Baptistery of San Giovanni.
Officers seized more than €500,000 in cash during the arrests. This follows the seizure of €200,000 from a Chinese couple last September. In January 2024, police uncovered a Chinese Shadow Bank network.
A total of 21 searches were carried out on suspects and companies in Brescia, Milan, and Bergamo. Police said these businesses were linked to a false invoicing scheme uncovered by the Brescia Flying Squad.
Milan apartment “a veritable cash storage centre”
Investigators identified a Milan apartment, registered to a Chinese woman, as “a veritable cash storage centre.” They believe two Italian brothers played a key role as intermediaries. Police said the brothers identified clients, supplied shell companies with fictitious names, and connected Italian entrepreneurs to Chinese citizens who returned money in cash.
Bank accounts linked to the group were found in Italy and abroad, including China, Luxembourg, Poland, Germany, Spain, Lithuania, Nigeria, and Croatia.
The cash service carried commissions, police said. Chinese citizens allegedly earned between 2% and 7%, while the Italian intermediaries received an additional 2%.
According to investigators, the group used a tried-and-tested method and “operated to provide compliant Italian and Albanian entrepreneurs with the opportunity to obtain the return of large sums of cash in exchange for issuing invoices for non-existent transactions produced by shell companies.” Police said the cash was “primarily provided by Chinese citizens residing in Milan, Vicenza, and Prato.”
Of the refunds paid to entrepreneurs issuing false invoices, the Chinese individuals who supplied the cash allegedly kept a share of between 2% and 7%.
