A joint French-Italian investigation has dismantled an international money laundering network that processed over €30 million, primarily from drug trafficking operations in Marseille. The operation, which began in December 2024 following a tip from Milan's financial police, revealed a sophisticated scheme involving cash transport to Italy, conversion to gold, and subsequent export to Kosovo and Turkey. French authorities from the Marseille research section of the gendarmerie collaborated with Italian counterparts in the nearly ten-month investigation that exposed the network's European reach.

The laundering operation involved weekly cash collections totaling more than €30 million between October 2024 and August 2025, primarily in Marseille and surrounding areas but also extending to Lyon, Paris, and Italy. The network, composed mainly of Syrian and Kosovar nationals, transported large cash sums to Italy where the money was converted into gold bars. These gold bars were then re-exported to Kosovo before reaching their final destination in Turkey, creating a complex international money trail that authorities have been tracking since the investigation's inception.

Significant seizures have marked the investigation's progress, with authorities confiscating 55 kilograms of 24-carat gold in one-kilogram bars along with €2.4 million in cash during initial arrests in early September. The total value of these seizures is estimated at approximately €8 million. Additional operations conducted in Marseille and surrounding communes in Bouches-du-Rhône resulted in the seizure of over €300,000, six vehicles, and luxury leather goods and jewelry, demonstrating the extensive assets accumulated through the laundering operation.

The investigation has revealed connections to the DZ Mafia, a criminal group that dominates drug trafficking in Marseille and has expanded its influence to other French cities. According to Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone, several suspects are directly linked to this organization, which authorities identify as responsible for generating the cash proceeds being laundered. The case has resulted in multiple arrests across France and Italy, with seven new indictments for aggravated money laundering and criminal conspiracy following recent operations, bringing the total number of individuals facing charges in connection with the network to significant numbers as the international investigation continues.