International Police Dismantle Ring That Scammed Florence Cathedral Managers

Italian police announced on December 11 that they have dismantled an international criminal organisation investigators say defrauded roughly €30 million, including a loss of nearly €1.8 million to the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, the non profit that manages Florence cathedral and other city monuments. Authorities recovered about €300,000 of the cathedral fund’s payment, leaving the Opera short by almost €1.5 million.

The operation formed part of a wider multinational enforcement action termed Operation Chargeback, a coordinated effort led by German prosecutors and the Federal Criminal Police Office and coordinated by Eurojust and Europol. The joint action on November 4 involved investigators from Germany, the United States, Canada, Singapore, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands, officials said. Italian investigators made public details of local warrants and charges on December 11.

According to the investigation, the criminal network used email interception and impersonation to carry out its schemes. In the Florence case criminals intercepted correspondence and impersonated the company that had performed restoration and conservation work for the Opera. Using false invoices and requests for payment, the suspects caused the Opera to transfer funds to accounts controlled by the fraudsters. While the broader Operation Chargeback targeted credit card fraud networks, the Florence fraud was effectively a business email compromise case relying on false invoicing and account takeovers.

Prosecutors in Brescia, in northern Italy, issued warrants for the arrest of 10 people, naming suspects of Italian, Nigerian, Albanian and Chinese nationality. The warrants cite charges of money laundering and issuing false invoices. Authorities did not provide details on convictions or trial dates, and said investigations across multiple jurisdictions are ongoing.

The financial hit to the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore illustrates the vulnerability of cultural and nonprofit organisations to increasingly sophisticated cyber enabled fraud. A near €1.5 million shortfall could affect planned restorations and operating budgets for an institution that manages some of Florence’s most visited and historically significant sites. Across all victims identified in the probe investigators put total losses at about €30 million, roughly $35.2 million.

Officials emphasised the role of international cooperation in tracking and disrupting sprawling fraud networks. Europol and partner agencies have framed Operation Chargeback as a template for transnational enforcement against networks that exploit cross border financial flows and gaps in corporate payment controls.

The next phase will focus on securing arrests, processing extradition requests where necessary, and tracing funds for victim restitution. Authorities and sector leaders say the case should prompt organisations that handle large transfers or rely on restoration contractors to tighten email security, verify payment channels and work with banks on rapid recovery procedures to reduce the economic consequences of future attacks.