Italy’s private banking subsidiary Fideuram reportedly lost €95 million in an AI-powered impersonation scam, with at least €36 million later converted to cryptocurrency through overseas transfers.
Impersonation targets Fideuram executives
Fraudsters convinced Fideuram’s leadership to carry out large transfers through a sophisticated scheme combining a WhatsApp message, cloned voice call, and forged documents. The con artists impersonated Carlo Messina, CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo, and senior lawyer Paolo Nastasi to persuade then-Fideuram chairman Paolo Molesini to approve confidential cross-border payments.
The scam began on February 23, 2026, when Molesini received a WhatsApp message from an unfamiliar number, presented as urgently relating to a secret acquisition overseas. ANSA, an Italian news agency, reported that the message appeared to come from Messina.
A follow-up phone call reportedly used advanced voice cloning technology to mimic lawyer Paolo Nastasi. According to Corriere della Sera, Nastasi was unaware of the incident and not involved in the crime. Subsequent emails, styled to resemble authentic law firm correspondence, included payment instructions and foreign bank account details. Molesini forwarded the payment requests to the finance department.
“The Fideuram AI voice scam combined apparent executive authority with a familiar professional voice. That sequence suggests impersonation reinforced the payment request across several communications. The reported transfers mainly went to accounts in China and Hong Kong.”
To further legitimize the request, perpetrators sent fake documents resembling authorization from Messina and a confidentiality agreement. ANSA reported an additional impersonator contacted a treasury officer, claiming to be Fideuram’s CEO and flagging the urgency and secrecy of the transactions.
Voice cloning strengthened the deception, making it difficult for victims to question the request’s authenticity. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has cautioned that voice cloning, using small audio samples, can fuel impersonation scams and urges double-checking all unexpected requests using verified channels.
Mini dictionary: Fideuram – A private banking division of Intesa Sanpaolo, one of Italy’s largest banking groups, specializing in asset management and wealth services for high-net-worth individual clients.
Crypto flows hinder recovery and complicate investigation
After Fideuram’s internal controls flagged the irregular transfers, the bank alerted institutions and law enforcement in multiple countries, seeking to trace and recover the funds. Recovery efforts quickly began, but published figures on the returned and frozen assets varied.
Corriere della Sera reported that a Chinese bank returned about €40 million, and authorities in Portugal froze roughly €13 million with Italian-Portuguese cooperation. One account by Reuters put combined recoveries at around €53 million. ANSA, referencing court documents, suggested €42 million had been stopped in Chinese accounts in addition to the amount frozen in Portugal.
| Country | Amount Recovered or Frozen |
|---|---|
| China | €40 million (returned) |
| Portugal | €13 million (frozen) |
Despite some success, authorities could not account for at least €36 million believed to have been converted into cryptocurrency after moving through international accounts, as reported by Corriere. Crypto transactions, which often use privacy features, have complicated tracing of final recipients and jurisdictional recovery efforts.
Italian prosecutors in Milan are investigating a foreign suspect for alleged computer fraud. According to Reuters, both Molesini and other Fideuram executives are not under criminal investigation. The bank has not publicly commented beyond confirming the incident.
The scam followed a similar 2025 impersonation campaign targeting Italian businessman Massimo Moratti, with authorities able to freeze about €1 million in a Dutch account in that earlier case.
Molesini resigned as chairman of Fideuram on March 12, 2026, citing personal reasons. The company has not offered further explanations concerning his departure.
