Laundering ring sting

ITALIAN police arrested 24 people yesterday, most of them Chinese, on charges of laundering about €2.7 billion from tax evasion, counterfeiting, prostitution and stolen goods.

About 1,000 agents took part in the nationwide sting, which stretched from the northern regions of Piedmont and Lombardy, to Tuscany and Lazio in central Italy, and Sicily and Campania in the south.

A total of 73 companies, 181 buildings, 300 bank accounts and 166 cars were seized, police said.

Authorities said those arrested, 17 Chinese and the rest Italians, operated the laundering ring through a network of money-transfer agencies.