Motorboat near Marina di Ragusa dumps €700,000 in sea, authorities seize cash

Marina di Ragusa motorboat €700,000 cash Malta Italian Coast Guard

On 29 July 2026 a small motorboat that had left Malta ran out of fuel near Marina di Ragusa, Sicily. Four occupants – three Maltese men and a 13‑year‑old boy – were on board. Two passengers swam ashore to obtain fuel while the remaining adult and the teenager stayed on the vessel.

When the Italian Coast Guard arrived, the two people still aboard threw sealed bundles containing roughly €600,000‑€700,000 in cash into the sea. The money drifted to the nearby Casuzze beach, where beachgoers collected most of it. Police, Carabinieri and the Guardia di Finanza then secured the area, recovered almost the entire sum and seized the boat for forensic examination.

The Ragusa prosecutor’s office opened a criminal investigation to determine the origin of the cash and whether it is linked to money‑laundering or other illegal activity. The investigation is ongoing.

Entities

C&C Imbarcazioni · Casuzze · Casuzze (Sicily) · Guardia di Finanza · Italian Coast Guard · Malta · Marina di Ragusa · Pietro Redesco · Province of Ragusa, Italy · Ragusa (province, Italy) · Ragusa Prosecutor's Office · Ragusa Province (Italy)

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

[● 10 SOURCES] Two occupants swam to shore while the remaining two stayed aboard the vessel. catania.liveuniversity.it · www.bigodino.it · emmepress.com · www.tele8tv.it · www.naftemporiki.gr · +5 more
[● 10 SOURCES] Beachgoers retrieved most of the cash; authorities recovered almost all of it during the operation. catania.liveuniversity.it · www.bigodino.it · lovinmalta.com · emmepress.com · www.oggi.it · +5 more
[● 8 SOURCES] The boat was traveling from Malta and had four occupants (three Maltese men and a teenage boy). www.tele8tv.it · lovinmalta.com · emmepress.com · www.oggi.it · www.thueringer-allgemeine.de · +3 more
[● 9 SOURCES] The Ragusa prosecutor's office opened a criminal investigation into the origin of the money. emmepress.com · www.tele8tv.it · misyjne.pl · www.naftemporiki.gr · catania.liveuniversity.it · +4 more
[● 11 SOURCES] The boat was seized and taken to port for forensic and technical examination. catania.liveuniversity.it · www.bigodino.it · lovinmalta.com · emmepress.com · www.tele8tv.it · +6 more
[● 9 SOURCES] When the Italian Coast Guard arrived, passengers threw sealed bundles containing approximately €600,000‑€700,000 cash into the sea. emmepress.com · www.tele8tv.it · misyjne.pl · www.naftemporiki.gr · catania.liveuniversity.it · +4 more
[● 9 SOURCES] A motorboat experienced engine failure near Marina di Ragusa on 29 July 2026. emmepress.com · www.tele8tv.it · catania.liveuniversity.it · www.naftemporiki.gr · misyjne.pl · +4 more
[● 8 SOURCES] Ragusa Police Commissioner Salvatore Fazzino said, “If everything had gone smoothly, we would not have intercepted it.” lovinmalta.com · emmepress.com · www.oggi.it · www.thueringer-allgemeine.de · www.tele8tv.it · +3 more
[● 3 SOURCES] The passengers threw bags containing about €665,000‑€700,000 into the sea to avoid the coast guard. www.naftemporiki.gr · boro.gr · pelop.gr
[● 3 SOURCES] The incident occurred near the Casuzze beach in the province of Ragusa, Sicily. www.naftemporiki.gr · boro.gr · pelop.gr
[● 7 SOURCES] The speedboat departed from Malta heading to Sicily and carried four occupants (three Maltese men and a teenage boy). www.naftemporiki.gr · boro.gr · pelop.gr · emmepress.com · www.tele8tv.it · +2 more
[● 2 SOURCES] Four people – three adult Maltese nationals and a 13‑year‑old boy – were aboard the vessel. boro.gr · pelop.gr