One network, composed mainly of perpetrators of Syrian and Egyptian origin, operated from the north of Italy. It offered ‘crime as a service’, organising money laundering for other OCGs through the so-called ‘hawala’ system. 

This system involves hiding illegal gains through a series of promises or guarantees to transfer large sums of money for laundering. For this purpose, it relies on a network of ‘hawaladars’, who created a myriad web of difficult-to-trace money transfers. 

In the case of this dismantled OCG, gold bars were also purchased and exchanged to conceal illegal proceeds, making them even more difficult to trace. The arrested suspects were also involved in drug trafficking, using vehicles with hidden compartments. The estimated value of the proceeds and illicit funds is estimated to be at least EUR 30 million.

Cooperation between the French and Italian authorities was set up via Eurojust in December 2024, including the start of the JIT. Furthermore, the Agency coordinated recent operations to conduct the arrests and provided cross-border judicial support. Europol’s specialists in money laundering and financial analysis provided expertise to their French and Italian counterparts.  During the operations, investigators in both countries used Europol’s secure communication platform to exchange information.

During the joint actions in France and Italy, 25 places were searched and apart from the bars of gold, also cash and luxury cars and various expensive watches with a total estimated value of EUR 8 million were seized.

The actions were carried out at the request of and by the following authorities:

• France: Interregional Specialised Jurisdiction (Jurisdiction Interrégionale Specialisée – JIRS) Marseille; Gendarmerie Nationale Marseille – Section de Recherches
• Italy: Public Prosecutor’s Office Milan – Anti Mafia District Directorate; Guardia di Finanza – Nucleo Polizia Finanziaria Milan, Organised Crime Investigation Unit (GICO)