7 Million Euros Of Italian Gold Are Smuggled Every Month To Algeria On Board The Ships
Italian financial police announced, on Monday, the dismantling of a money laundering cell that is operating on French and Italian territory, and transferring money to Algeria or turning it into gold by sending 7 million euros of gold per month to Algeria on board of ships with the complicity of the staff of the shipping company.
Italian National News Agency “ANSA” said that the dismantling operation was launched two years ago in cooperation with the French police, as the operations included different cities on the French soil, including Marseille, Paris, Grenoble, Montpellier and other Italian cities like Florence, Rome, Brescia, and Arezzo the capital of Italian gold.
In the details, 19 people were arrested during the process, and they are mostly of French nationality and Algerian origin, and 550.000 euros were seized in cash and the amount of gold valued at more than 1 million euros, and luxury watches and 10 touristic cars.
According to the information that was provided by the Italian Financial Police, the cell obtains funds through the drug trade in many French cities or funds of tax evasion, and buy gold from Italy, especially the city of Arezzo which is the country’s gold capital, then someone eventually ensure that gold was brought into Algeria by a Frenchman of Algerian origin.
The same source said that there is a person in charge of transporting the quantities of gold to Algeria on a monthly transfer between 5 to 7 million euros a month of Italian gold to Algeria.
Italy’s financial police have provided interesting details on how the gold, which the cell is buying from Italy, is being transferred to Algeria through dirty funds (drug and tax evasion).
The operation is mostly done by hiding the gold coins tightly in the cars and taking the vessel’s voyage of the national shipping company for passengers (Italian financial police referred to the state shipping company for passengers) in order to introduce gold to Algeria with the complicity of employees in the same company.