SEC Proposes Rules to Make It Easier to Raise Money Through Crypto Sales

On 18 August 2026, Italian police arrested 30 people accused of running an underground bank for organized crime from a car-rental business near Milan, seizing €21 million (about $23.6 million) in cash, bank balances, cryptocurrency, boats, jewelry and luxury watches, according to ANSA as reported by Decrypt. The operation, carried out by the Guardia di Finanza on the orders of Milan's anti-mafia prosecutors, targeted suspects linked to the 'Ndrangheta, the Camorra and organized crime groups from Foggia. Sixteen were taken into custody and 14 placed under house arrest, including two people arrested in Spain and one in Switzerland. Prosecutors say the network issued more than €110 million in fake invoices and moved about €68 million abroad, some of it through crypto exchanges.

Background

The Decrypt report notes that Italian authorities have warned for years that organized crime is adopting digital assets. In 2021, Italy's Anti-Mafia Investigative Directorate said that "all criminal organizations, including those of the Mafia type, have an interest in using these instruments for their business," and described the 'Ndrangheta, Italy's most powerful criminal syndicate, as "growing more and more attuned to modern tools like cryptocurrency and the deep web." The investigation, set out in a court order running to more than 500 pages, was supported by the Guardia di Finanza's technology fraud unit. According to investigators, the business in Pero, on the outskirts of Milan, was run by three Italians: two long-standing contacts of 'Ndrangheta clans from Crotone, both previously convicted in earlier mafia investigations, and a member of the Camorra's Casalesi clan. Chinese and Albanian accomplices helped operate the network, prosecutors said. The case is the latest example of Italian prosecutors alleging that mafia groups use crypto to move and conceal illicit funds, a concern that the 2021 Anti-Mafia Investigative Directorate statement had already flagged.

What happened

According to Decrypt, citing ANSA, Italian police arrested 30 people accused of running an underground bank for organized crime from a car-rental business near Milan. The operation was carried out by the Guardia di Finanza, Italy's financial police, on the orders of Milan's anti-mafia prosecutors. Sixteen were taken into custody and 14 placed under house arrest, including two people arrested in Spain and one in Switzerland. The suspects are linked to the 'Ndrangheta, the Camorra and organized crime groups from Foggia in southern Italy. Prosecutors say the business in Pero, on the outskirts of Milan, was run by three Italians: two long-standing contacts of 'Ndrangheta clans from Crotone, both previously convicted in earlier mafia investigations, and a member of the Camorra's Casalesi clan. Chinese and Albanian accomplices helped operate the network, prosecutors said. Shell companies issued more than €110 million in invoices for services never provided, letting businesses cut their tax bills. Those firms paid by bank transfer and received the money back in cash, minus a commission. The network moved about €68 million abroad, according to prosecutors. Funds gathered in the shell companies' accounts were sent to banks in Luxembourg, Lithuania and Germany, then routed through crypto exchanges into wallets controlled by the network, Bloomberg reported. Drug traffickers who handed over cash received crypto or international bank transfers in return, and the network also handled money stolen from victims of online crypto investment scams, according to the report. Among those arrested is a Guardia di Finanza inspector, placed under house arrest on corruption charges, according to Calabrian outlet LaC News24. Investigators also accused a Milan court employee of leaking information about ongoing investigations, and a lawyer and a former member of the financial police are among those caught up in the case.

Market impact

The sources provide no market prices, trading volumes, or crypto price reactions. The only figures present are those of the investigation: €21 million (about $23.6 million) in assets seized, including cryptocurrency; more than €110 million in fake invoices; and about €68 million moved abroad. The Decrypt report states that funds were routed through crypto exchanges into wallets controlled by the network, and that the network handled money stolen from victims of online crypto investment scams. No specific exchanges are named, and no figures are given for the crypto portion of the seized assets or for the volume of crypto moved. The report does not quantify any market impact, nor does it state any effect on crypto prices or flows beyond the amounts allegedly moved by the network. Therefore, no market-impact figures beyond those in the source can be reported.

Why it matters

The Decrypt report frames the case as part of a long-standing warning from Italian authorities that organized crime is adopting digital assets. The 2021 statement from Italy's Anti-Mafia Investigative Directorate, quoted in the report, said that "all criminal organizations, including those of the Mafia type, have an interest in using these instruments for their business," and described the 'Ndrangheta as "growing more and more attuned to modern tools like cryptocurrency and the deep web." The case illustrates how prosecutors allege crypto exchanges were used to route funds moved abroad, and how the network allegedly handled money from drug traffickers and online crypto investment scams. It also highlights the involvement of a Guardia di Finanza inspector and a Milan court employee, suggesting potential corruption and leaks within institutions. The report does not state any policy response or regulatory change resulting from the case, but it adds to the body of official warnings about mafia use of crypto.