Italian police dismantle Chinese-run underground bank used by drug traffickers

Italian police have dismantled an underground bank operated by a Chinese national in Prato, the textile hub in Tuscany, according to the Guardian. The clandestine operation moved between €80 and €100 million annually through intermediaries and is believed to have processed several hundred million euros over at least three years. The bank served as a global broker for drug trafficking proceeds and other illicit funds, functioning as a shadow financial system parallel to legitimate banking channels.

The operation's scale and sophistication underscore the vulnerability of Italy's financial infrastructure to organised crime, particularly in regions where large immigrant communities and cash-intensive industries create opacity. Prato, long a centre of Chinese textile manufacturing and commerce, has become a focal point for international money-laundering networks. The bank's role as a global broker—not merely a local conduit—suggests connections to trafficking organisations across multiple continents and drug markets.