Cracking the case on Chinese underground banking in Italy

Rome: The Guardia di Finanza confirms that while Chinese underground banking is not widespread in Italy, targeted “alerts” persist in areas with significant Asian business presence.

Limited reach, heightened vigilance. General Andrea De Gennaro, commanding the Guardia di Finanza (the military police force for financial crime) for two years, tells Il Sole 24 Ore that Chinese criminal organisations’ underground banking—used to funnel and “clean” illicit funds—does not enjoy “capillary diffusion” in Italy.

An ostensibly ordinary retail shop was actually a covert “bank,” offering cash-based payment services and money exchange outside official channels. Over €500,000 in cash and luxury goods were confiscated.

Inside the bank. In a shop near Brescia’s station, the core business was a parallel, illegal payment network.

Customers—predominantly from the Chinese community—handed large sums of cash to the operators, who charged a 2.5% commission.

Funds were then transferred to foreign accounts via Chinese payment apps, returning to clients in renminbi.

This process bypassed formal banking channels and anti-money-laundering safeguards, masking illicit origins—linked in this case to suspected prostitution rackets at local massage parlours.