“Dark money in Volpi’s Swiss accounts”

Genova - The business was discussed in anonymous and elegant Swiss offices, but it was the usual smugglers who carried the suitcases full of illegally acquired banknotes and kilograms of gold across the border. The techniques have been refined over time, for example, the organisation arranged SIM cards that turned out not to be registered to anyone.

But some methods go back to the history of the Italo-Swiss border, like the coachbuilder who built double bottoms in the boots of cars to help financial planners and their clients fool the Tax Authority.

And it was in this way that the Financial Police encountered the name of Gabriele Volpi, who is an oil man with business in Nigeria, a billionaire patron of Pro Recco and Spezia Calcio [sports teams], and a shareholder (5%) in Banca Carige post-Berneschi. The tycoon is being investigated for self-laundering, as the investigators wrote, “for having repeatedly transferred his own financial resources proceeding from various crimes committed during his time in Italy and abroad (fraudulent bankruptcy, use of invoices for non-existent operations in the management of the water polo company Pro Recco, which he controls, bribing Nigerian government officials); resources that he had previously, and in secret, exported to deposit into accounts managed by Libero Valsangiacomo’s PKB Privatbank S.A.”

According to Como’s chief prosecutor Nicola Piacente, there was a series of suspicious money transfers to two of his most trusted collaborators, Gabriele Giuntini and Eugenio Ferrari, both of whom are under investigation. The investigators went on: “Volpi had also secretly exported money to be deposited in accounts managed by Valsangiacomo’s PKB Privatbank S.A. In particular, he reimported the following monies: Giovanni Fortini, on 6 May 2016, the total sum of €250,000 which, after crossing the border at Bizzarone he delivered to Eugenio Ferrari, Volpi’s representative, in two payments (6 and 7 May 2016); Fortina again, €250,000 which once he had crossed the border at Bizzarone, were given to Gabriele Giuntini, another representative of Volpi’s in Rapallo; Maurizio Fortina, on 6 October 2016, €45,000 reimported in the preceding days which he meant to deliver to Giuntini in Rapallo, but failed because of the intervention by the Financial Police. The charges are aggravated because he abetted an organised crime group that is active in more than one country.” Yesterday, Il Secolo XIX spoke with Pro Recco and sources close to Volpi, who preferred not to comment at this stage.