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Italian prosecutors have asked for some 300 Chinese nationals and the Bank of China's Milan branch to be tried for money laundering and tax evasion.
Prosecutors in Tuscany made the request following a probe into criminal networks in the region, long home to a large Chinese community that has drawn fire in the past for running clothes factories in sweatshop conditions.
The investigation, dubbed "River of Money", began in 2008 and focused on money transferred to China -- funds Florence prosecutors say come from exploiting illegal labour, counterfeiting money and tax evasion, according to Italian media reports.
Those under investigation are accused of using the Money2Money (M2M) transfer service to shift money from several Italian cities, with the Bank of China receiving over 750,000 euros ($850,000) in commissions, the reports say.
The Italian daily La Repubblica said that between 2006 and 2010 over 4.5 billion euros ($5.1 billion) was smuggled to China, with 2.2 billion euros going via the Bank of China's (BOC) Milan branch.
Italy focuses on Bank of China in graft probe - The Local
The investigation was launched in 2008 by Pietro Suchan, the first Italian investigating magistrate to tackle Chinese crime.
The Chinese underground economy in Tuscany was brought into focus in 2013 when a fire killed seven workers as they slept in cardboard cubicles at a workshop in Prato, which has one of the highest concentrations of Chinese immigrants in Italy.
Italian prosecutors seek trial for Bank of China over money smuggling Reuters
It's Italy so .................if they can press charges we are looking at what? Some ten years before it's settled?
Prosecutors in Tuscany made the request following a probe into criminal networks in the region, long home to a large Chinese community that has drawn fire in the past for running clothes factories in sweatshop conditions.
The investigation, dubbed "River of Money", began in 2008 and focused on money transferred to China -- funds Florence prosecutors say come from exploiting illegal labour, counterfeiting money and tax evasion, according to Italian media reports.
Those under investigation are accused of using the Money2Money (M2M) transfer service to shift money from several Italian cities, with the Bank of China receiving over 750,000 euros ($850,000) in commissions, the reports say.
The Italian daily La Repubblica said that between 2006 and 2010 over 4.5 billion euros ($5.1 billion) was smuggled to China, with 2.2 billion euros going via the Bank of China's (BOC) Milan branch.
Italy focuses on Bank of China in graft probe - The Local
The investigation was launched in 2008 by Pietro Suchan, the first Italian investigating magistrate to tackle Chinese crime.
The Chinese underground economy in Tuscany was brought into focus in 2013 when a fire killed seven workers as they slept in cardboard cubicles at a workshop in Prato, which has one of the highest concentrations of Chinese immigrants in Italy.
Italian prosecutors seek trial for Bank of China over money smuggling Reuters
It's Italy so .................if they can press charges we are looking at what? Some ten years before it's settled?