Italian Financial Police Seek Assistance From Andorran Authorities

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

21 February 2008

The Italian financial police have reportedly requested assistance from the anti-money laundering authorities in Andorra in their quest to trace EUR5 million in illegal proceeds from the bankruptcy of an Italian toy manufacturer.

Andorra's Diari d’Andorra reported earlier this week that the Italian Guardia Finaza is on the trail of a Spanish national and former employee of a Swiss financial institution, who is suspected of using bank accounts in Andorra to fund sham property deals in Eastern Europe.

According to the report, while the Andorran authorities acknowledged that a request for assistance had been received, confidentiality laws prevented them from divulging the nature of the request.

The financial police in Milan recently made four arrests in connection with the alleged laundering of fraudulently-obtained gains siphoned off from the historical toy manufacturer, BBurago, which went bankrupt in October 2005.

Italian daily, Corriere Della Sera reported earlier this month that these four included two Italians and two Swiss nationals, who may have conspired with BBurago's ex managing director, Marco Besana, himself arrested in 2006, to launder the money through fictitious real estate investments in the Czech Republic.

However, the Corriere Della Sera named Martinez Moliner Daniel as the key suspect in the investigation, and his capture is expected to lead to the uncovering of a much wider web of illegal financial operations.

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