Operation by the Tax Agency, Eurojust and the Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office

• The center of the organization's illegal activities was a clandestine bank with a logistical base in Italy, managed since 2021 by a Chinese national.

• In Italy, 40 people have been arrested for alleged drug trafficking, illegal immigration and money laundering offenses, and assets worth more than 60 million euros have been seized.

• In Spain, the Customs Surveillance Service has carried out ten searches and arrested an Italian citizen who directed the so-called 'Iberian cell' of the network from Marbella, responsible for collecting cash in commercial establishments for its introduction into the 'clandestine bank' responsible for the laundering.

• Investigators estimate that this illegal network had managed to move between 80 and 100 million euros annually in Europe for at least three years

June 19, 2026. Officials from the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency have dismantled the so-called 'Iberian cell' of a criminal network dedicated to financing and laundering funds for various mafia organizations in Italy and Albania. The network was run from a clandestine bank with a logistics base in Italy, which had been managed since 2021 by a Chinese citizen. The structure deactivated in Spain, which was directed from Marbella by an Italian citizen already arrested, was responsible for collecting cash in clothing stores in industrial parks for its introduction into the clandestine bank responsible for the laundering. In Italy, 40 people have been arrested and assets worth more than 60 million have been seized. Investigators estimate that this criminal network was responsible for moving between 80 and 100 million euros annually for at least three years.

The investigation, initiated by the Florence Anti-Mafia District Directorate, has focused on a criminal association led by a Chinese citizen residing in Prato (Italy) that operated as a transnational 'illegal bank' since 2021.

The system was based on the trust mechanism called 'hawala', known in its Chinese variant as 'Fei-Ch'ien', which allowed capital to be transferred virtually between Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands through a network of intermediaries who charged a commission for the transactions.

The clients of this clandestine bank were dangerous Albanian drug cartels based in central and northern Italy, and the investigation has also revealed the involvement of mafia organizations in Italy.

Money laundering through clothing stores in industrial parks

In Spanish territory, the organization was coordinated by the so-called 'Iberian cell', led by an Italian citizen recently arrested in South America, and his sister, with an operational base in Malaga, from where they were in charge of collecting cash for the clandestine bank. Last Monday in Marbella, and in execution of a European Arrest and Surrender Order, officials of the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency proceeded to arrest and place at the disposal of the National Court of this citizen, also of Italian nationality, who currently de facto directed the 'Iberian cell'.

The network had a wide network of active textile stores in industrial parks in Madrid, Seville and Malaga. Within the framework of two European Investigation Orders coordinated by the Special Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office, ten search and seizure orders have been executed, authorized by the Instruction Section of the Court of First Instance of Marbella, square nº 1, at the headquarters of the related Spanish companies and at the home of the detainee in Marbella.

During the raids in Spain, numerous documents, 'B' accounting records, cash, and electronic devices were seized and will be thoroughly analyzed. Meanwhile, in Italy, 40 people have been arrested for drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and money laundering offenses, and assets worth more than 60 million euros have been seized.

The operation, called 'Easy Money', was carried out with a large simultaneous deployment by officials from the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency and the Polizia di Stato in Spain and Italy, and coordinated by Eurojust, the Special Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office and the Florence Prosecutor's Office. The AEAT Support and Liaison Unit in the Special Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office, the AEAT Computer Audit Unit and Europol have also participated.