Italy dismantles a precious metals smuggling operation into Switzerland
Keystone-SDA
Italian investigators announced on Friday they have dismantled a smuggling operation involving 600 kilos of gold and silver to Switzerland.
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Seventeen people have been sent on trial in the case, which netted the perpetrators more than €26 million.
The main defendant is a businessman from Ferrara, a town in Emilia-Romagna near Bologna. He and his alleged accomplices are charged with illegal trading in precious metals and money laundering, according to the Italian news agency Ansa.
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The shady origins of gold refined in Switzerland
The 560 kilos of gold and 65 kilos of silver identified in the Guardia di Finanza investigation are believed to have been smuggled to Switzerland to be melted down. According to the investigators, the precious metal was acquired in Italy, probably from illegal sources.
During the two-year investigation, gold and silver jewellery worth more than €220,000 was seized. These valuables were hidden in a vat buried in the garden of the home of one of the main perpetrators, according to Ansa.
It added that €100,000 in cash had been seized at a border post with Switzerland, without specifying where. The money, derived from the illegal sale of precious metals, was hidden in a car.
The 17 people on trial are charged with transnational criminal conspiracy, illegal trade in used precious metals and money laundering. Eight other people involved in the investigation have already offered a plea bargain, which has been accepted by the judicial authority. They will pay partial compensation, all of which will be donated to charities, according to the Italian agency.
Translated from French by DeepL/mga
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