According to Reuters’ exclusive information, Italian prosecutors are seeking to bring 297 people, mostly Chinese, as well as the Milan branch of Bank of China to trial on charges of allegedly smuggling more than 4.5 billion euros from Italy into China between 2006 and 2010. A judge in Florence is in the process of deciding whether they should be indicted and face a trial.
A prosecutor’s document also shows that the money transfer operator Money2Money played a significant role in the money flows.
The state owned Bank of China confirmed that the inspection is taking place but denied any wrondoing: “Bank of China is providing full cooperation to the Italian Supervisory Authority”. The Bank claims this inspection is a routine procedure which is repeated every few years. “It is not connected to the M2M (Money2Money) issue” the Chinese bank said.
The Bank of Italy, which oversees banks and financial operators active in the country, declined to comment as it said supervisory activity was secret.