Those strange rounds of money on the current accounts of the Russian embassy in Italy – Corriere.it

In a year of war, the Russian embassy in Italy became the protagonist of threats to parliamentarians, complaints to journalists, propaganda maneuvers. And also a strange round of cash. From the day when Vladimir Putin invaded Kiev, Moscow tried to besiege Rome, believing it was the “weak link” of the western front. Since then the head of Russian diplomacy in Italy, Sergei Razov, he was noted for a series of provocative initiatives which led the Farnesina to summon him several times. At first he sent an intimidating letter to the parliamentarians who were about to vote on the first military aid to Ukraine. And since the presidents of the chambers of the time did not intervene in defense of deputies and senators, he believed he could continue undisturbed: he paid for plane tickets to political leaders who invented mediators; he called the former premier to explain to them that «it was all the fault of Volodymyr Zelensky»; he wedged himself into the folds of those parties who no longer wanted to send arms in the name of a rediscovered pacifism; he held a press conference in front of the Roman prosecutor’s office after having presented a complaint against a newspaper article.

The latest news about the war in Ukraine, live

With Mario Draghi And Giorgia Meloni at Palazzo Chigi, however, each of his shots went blank. Even if you never gave up. But while Razov was launching warnings towards a country “that bites the hand of those who helped it”, his embassy ended up under the magnifying glass of the UIF. last year theItalian anti-money laundering unit he was alerted by certain movements on the three accounts of the Roman diplomatic office of the Russian Federation. One of the accounts operates in foreign currency, the other two in euros. And all together – coincidentally in conjunction with the outbreak of war – they triggered the alarm of the structure that operates at the Bank of Italy. There is a trace of it in the UIF documents, which show that the “reports” already began in the first half of 2022. In the second, if possible, they increased.

In the report dated 5 January 2023, the UIF described in detail the latest transactions deemed “suspicious”. Between 17 and 20 October 2022 they were paid into the “currency” account of the Russian diplomatic mission 400 thousand American dollars: money which “according to the documentation provided” derived from “stocks” for “regular and daily activities” of the embassy. Just four days later, an amount equal to was transferred from that account to one of the other two accounts 403 thousand euros. And from there, within a month, “five cash withdrawals” were made in total 410 thousand euros. The UIF notes: “In the light of the restrictive measures ordered by the EU against Russian entities or in any case attributable to the Russian Federation, following the crisis in Ukraine, cash handling for large amounts appears suspect”.

The following month another particular operation was reported to the Anti-Money Laundering Unit: on 12 December – it is written – a security company “will deliver to the Russian embassy in via Gaeta 5 in Rome” a grant of money of 600 thousand euros, «consisting of six thousand 100 euro banknotes». “The supply – according to the Italian control structure – appears anomalous for the total value required, if analyzed in the context of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine”. In short, only in the last quarter of 2022 did the Moscow diplomatic office in Rome make a move one million euros in cash. What all this liquidity was used for is not known, nor are any recipients known. It is certain that the use of so much money for “regular and daily activities” is excessive.

The fact is that the sanctions have drastically reduced the means of transfers for Moscow institutions and the blockade from Russia is likely to prevent other types of movements. However, the figure is considerable and in fact the UIF has forwarded the reports to the competent bodies. It may be a coincidence, but at the same time that Razov’s embassy was acting on the accounts, the Anti-Money Laundering Unit signed a “new memorandum of understanding” with the National Anti-Mafia Directorate, “to refine the mechanisms for sharing data on suspicious transactions” and “optimize the use of information from foreign Financial Intelligence Units”. The Italian services cannot fail to know…