Italian bank Banca Progetto has been placed under judicial administration for providing state-guaranteed loans to the mafia.
Since 2020, Italy has distributed billions of euros to mitigate the impact of the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Investigators claim that Banca Progetto had for years issued loans, which were backed by a public fund intended to support small and medium businesses, to mafia-linked companies. “Investigators found several shortfalls in the bank’s operations specifically in relation to [Banca Progetto’s] permeability to relations with individuals under investigation for serious crimes or subject to restrictive personal or financial measures,” prosecutors said.
This is not the first time the bank has faced scrutiny for its anti-money laundering (AML) practices. In 2023, the Bank of Italy fined Banca Progetto €100 thousand for deficiencies in its control systems. And, in March of this year, the Bank of Italy asked Banca Progetto to resolve shortcomings in its (AML) measures.
Join The Discussion