Italian private banking giant Fideuram has been hit by an artificial intelligence-powered impersonation scam that began in February 2026, leaving roughly €39.5 million unaccounted for after about €95 million was transferred abroad. Fideuram is the private banking arm of Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s largest banking group, and the case shows how synthetic voices and fake executive identities can be used to move funds across borders before they are traced into crypto wallets.
According to court documents summarized by ANSA and Corriere della Sera, then-chairman Paolo Molesini received a WhatsApp message on Feb. 23 from an unknown number that appeared to come from Intesa Sanpaolo CEO Carlo Messina. The message described a confidential acquisition involving an international bank and said Fideuram would be used to avoid a leak that could alert Consob. A second contact appeared to come from Paolo Nastasi, managing partner of A&O Shearman Italia, but he had no involvement. Investigators believe the caller’s voice was reproduced using artificial intelligence. Emails made to resemble law firm communications supplied payment instructions and foreign account details.
Investigators say 11 transfers totaling close to €95 million were sent abroad between Feb. 23 and Feb. 25. Substantial sums were routed to accounts in China and Portugal. Around €42 million sent to China was blocked and returned, while more than €13 million held at a Portuguese bank was seized. Overall, roughly €55 million has been recovered, leaving €39.5 million missing. At least €4 million from the fraud is believed to have moved through accounts in Malta, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, then through a Canadian money-transfer platform before reaching two Bitcoin wallets.
Milan prosecutors are investigating a 48-year-old Israeli citizen linked to one of the foreign accounts, although authorities are still checking whether the identity documents correspond to a real person or were used to hide those responsible. Paolo Molesini resigned on March 12 for personal reasons, and reports say he is not under investigation. The case is part of a broader pattern: Italian prosecutors also reported a May incident in which another bank manager was tricked into authorizing almost €24 million in transfers, with about €20 million later recovered, while a smaller institution lost roughly €2 million.
The incident comes as Italy has increased monitoring of crypto transfers, with the Bank of Italy instructing crypto service providers to apply sanctions screening to every crypto transfer without transaction-value thresholds. Investigators continue to seek banking, payment-platform and crypto information from other jurisdictions.
