Italian police dismantle underground bank in Prato used by mafia and drug traffickers

Police from the Florence anti‑mafia directorate and the Prato prosecutor’s office carried out a large‑scale raid that led to 41 arrests in Italy and Spain and the seizure of more than €60 million in assets. The operation uncovered a clandestine “bank” based in Prato that moved an estimated €80‑100 million a year through the hawala‑style “Fei Chien” system, allowing organised crime groups to pay for drug shipments and other illegal activities without traceable cash flows.

The network served Italian mafia clans – including the Briganti clan of the Sacra Corona Unita, the ‘ndrina Fiarè‑Razionale‑Gasparro of the ‘Ndrangheta, and the Camorra‑linked Aquino‑Annunziata clan – as well as Albanian drug traffickers and Chinese criminal groups. A parallel operation facilitated illegal immigration from China, routing migrants through Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia into Italy for a fee of up to €9,500 per person, with final destinations in Prato, Turin and Verona.

Authorities mobilised about 150 officers, an aircraft and conducted dozens of searches, charging the suspects with criminal conspiracy, drug trafficking, money‑laundering and aiding illegal immigration. The case highlights the use of informal money‑transfer mechanisms to support trans‑national organised crime.