The crackdown on the network was carried out on Wednesday when the Italian gendarmerie arrested a total of 44 people, Europol writes in a press release. Financial assets corresponding to EUR 8 million have been frozen and apartments, luxury boats and cars of the same value have been seized.

Imitation safety details

The first suspicions were raised in 2017 after a seizure of counterfeit banknotes in Italy. The police then concluded that the counterfeiters had access to sophisticated machines and other equipment because they managed to imitate the security details of the real banknotes.

The discovery was followed by more seizures the following year, including a number of counterfeit coins in Lombardy.

The brains behind the league are suspected of having been involved in counterfeiting money for over 20 years. During that time, he has not only managed to build up an extensive production of banknotes but also create an entire network to spread the money in Europe.

Located behind one of four banknotes

According to the investigation, the activities must have links to the Neapolitan mafia, Camorran.

The network is described as one of the most comprehensive since the introduction of the euro and is believed to have accounted for one of four counterfeit banknotes since the late 1990s.