From pv magazine Italy
Italy’s financial police, the Guardia di Finanza, and the State Police have seized the investment portal www.voltaiko.com and frozen 95 bank accounts tied to the Voltaiko Group in connection with an alleged €80 million ($92.3 million) fraud.
The Guardia di Finanza said in a statement that investigators uncovered a transnational criminal network operating a pyramid-style marketing scheme typical of multi-level network sales. The group allegedly ran multiple scams, including Ponzi-style investment offers that promised high profits to early investors at the expense of later participants.
Authorities said the investment program centered on the rental of non-existent photovoltaic panels supposedly located in countries with strong solar potential, offering “attractive monthly or quarterly returns.” Funds were locked for three years, luring about 6,000 investors nationwide through what the police described as “numerous procurers.”
The Bologna Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered the immediate seizure of the website and related financial assets linked to the companies and suspects, who remain presumed innocent until a final ruling.
During raids, investigators confiscated cryptocurrencies, luxury goods, gold bars, electronic devices, and documents deemed relevant to the case. The probe was led by the Bologna Metropolitan Operations Unit of the Guardia di Finanza and the Emilia-Romagna Cybersecurity Operations Center, under the direction of Prosecutor Marco Imperato.
In a separate case days earlier, Italian authorities seized more than €5 million in incentives from three solar companies controlled by Spanish entrepreneurs. The move prevented the payment of an additional €3 million that would have been disbursed by the national energy agency Gestore dei Servizi Energetici by 2031.
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