Grosseto. The Fiamme Gialle of the Livorno Group, making use of the monetary and judicial police powers attributed to the Corps, have concluded a complex investigation conducted against 4 “money transfer” agencies located in the municipalities of Livorno, Cecina and Grosseto, denouncing the respective owners held responsible, at present, for the crimes of possession and production of false identification documents, receiving stolen goods, failure to comply with the customer due diligence obligations envisaged by the current legislation on the prevention and combating of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering and terrorist financing.
The investigation
The investigation originates from a thorough info-investigative activity conducted in the Labronica area, culminating in the identification and control of two Pakistani brothers who own individual “money transfer” businesses, characterized by multiple and significant risk alerts. The subsequent operational investigations consisting of the analysis of the current accounts and the accounting and extra-accounting documentation acquired during local and IT searches in the four sales outlets, have, in fact, made it possible to ascertain how the two brothers, in order to guarantee the anonymity to their customers and circumvent the anti-money laundering legislation that affects money remittance services, had they used the data and identity of unsuspecting people and/or occasional customers in which to register fictitious money transfer transactions.
The Financiers then heard the numerous customers of the inspected “money transfer” agencies who, in some cases, denied the money transfers registered in their name, stating that they had never carried out such operations in the point of sale in question, while, in others, they declared that they had only carried out some of the money transfer transactions which, however, were recorded in their name.
The judicial police activity carried out, in the complex they were monitored 24,989 transfer operations of money for a total amount sent equal to 5,679,144.63 euroshas, therefore, made it possible to bring to light a real fraud system implemented by the two Pakistani brothers which involved the simulated attribution of the sums to be transferred outside the national borders to subjects other than the real ones, in order to guarantee the anonymity of the executors of the money remittances. The criminal plan was carried out through the illicit use of false, stolen or lost identification documents as well as the personal data of subjects who were completely unaware of the financial transactions registered to them, as formal senders of the money remittances in question.
At the conclusion of the investigation carried out, the following were found 534 illicit money transfer transactions for a total amount equal to 228,405.04 eurosWhile the two brothers were reported to the local Public Prosecutor’s Office for the cases of crime indicated in the incipit, as well as being reported to the Body of Financial Agents and Credit Brokers (Oam) for the consequent cessation of the activity.
“The service carried out demonstrates the fundamental role played by the Guardia di Finanza also with regard to the prevention, research and repression of violations to the detriment of the financial and securities markets, as well as the fight against illicit movements of capital, currencies, securities and vehicles national and foreign payment systems – we read in a note from the Fiamme Gialle -. It should be noted that the criminal proceedings are still in the preliminary investigation phase and that the responsibility of the suspects will be definitively ascertained only if an irrevocable sentence of conviction occurs. The dissemination of this press release has been authorized by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Livorn”.
