The story of the police seizing counterfeit workshops in southern Italy keeps repeating itself, but in the latest version, there is a new twist — the counterfeiters are now accepting payment in cryptocurrencies, which they apparently trust more than cash.

June 10, in Lecce, an operation by Italy’s Carabinieri resulted in the arrest of a counterfeiter and the dismantling of what Europol described as “a sophisticated counterfeiting print shop.” The raid resulted in the seizure of over €100,000 in counterfeit bank notes and over €10,000 worth of cryptocurrencies. Before that, authorities in Italy and France arrested the buyers of large quantities of the fake bank notes.

The investigation, which began last February, was coordinated by Europol and involved investigators from law enforcement agencies in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and Spain. In addition to the individual arrested, two others have been accused of producing extremely convincing counterfeit euro bank notes, which they offered for sale at 10% of face value via the Telegram messenger service.

Officers seized the print shop used to counterfeit euro bank notes of various denominations (€5, €10, €20, and €50) and tools and materials used to produce the “highly sophisticated counterfeits.” Confiscated at the scene were printing and cutting machines, and raw materials for the notes and their security features. European Central Bank analysts described the forged security features, such as holograms, as of high quality. The Carabinieri also seized the perpetrator’s electronic devices and the online channel they used to advertise and sell the fake bank notes.

Authorities traced over 170 sales in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and Spain. The investigation found that buyers could order counterfeit euro notes of various denominations via a dedicated communication channel. The producers accepted payment in cryptocurrencies and had the fake money sent by mail.

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