Milano, a river of money from scam diamonds: an arrest

The Financiers of the Provincial Command of Milano they arrested a well-known entrepreneur in the financial sector of Northern Italy and seized assets worth over 17 million euros.

Furthermore, the administrative responsibility of the entities was contested against a consultancy firm involved in the illicit activity. The activity, conventionally called "GOLD FISH" and coordinated by the Deputy Prosecutor of Milano Grazia COLACICCO, arises from the “CRAZY DIAMOND” investigation, concluded in 2019, which had made it possible to ascertain the commission of a scam, for several hundred million euros, to the detriment of tens of thousands of savers, by companies which, through the banking system, they promoted and sold diamonds at prices significantly higher than their actual value, fearing unrealistic returns to investors and charging them exorbitant commissions.

In particular, by further examining the financial flows of one of the companies whose shares had already been seized in the previous operation and developing some reports for suspicious transactions, the Milanese Fiamme Gialle reconstructed the complex money laundering mechanism used to hide part of the proceeds of the aforementioned scam, also through the interposition of numerous natural and legal persons. The investigations, carried out by the soldiers of the Economic-Financial Police Unit of Milano, made it possible, in practice, to reveal that the entrepreneur had laundered and reinvested his illicit earnings in funds managed by a Luxembourg investment company as well as financing numerous related businesses, all active in Central-Northern Italy in the most diversified economic sectors : a restaurant in Forte dei Marmi, a marble quarry, a tailor's shop and a car dealership all located in Carrara and two companies operating in debt collection and real estate brokerage based in Milano.The activities were carried out in Milano, Rome, Varese and in the provinces of Lucca and Massa Carrara and allowed the seizure of no. 53 financial relationships, 21 company shares, a property and a car.