Missing for eight months, a 60-year-old Italian bank advisor is suspected of stealing 20 million euros from his clients.

A bank advisor based in Bolzano, Italy, is suspected of embezzling nearly €20 million from his clients. According to Corriere Dell'Alto Adige, the 60-year-old has been missing since unexpectedly leaving his job last December. He announced early retirement and disappeared into thin air.

According to the Italian newspaper, the advisor was respected, well-known, and even considered a leading figure in the northern city. His modus operandi was very simple: he allegedly first convinced families and entrepreneurs to invest in supposedly safe investments. He reassured them with seemingly authentic, but in reality, forged, documents.

The money remains untraceable

Then, using false statements and fictitious transactions, he allegedly gradually emptied the accounts of all those who had trusted him. The deposited funds were diverted, leaving savers with nothing but worthless papers. Thanks to the relationship of trust he had established with his clients, his scheme allegedly lasted several years, resulting in losses estimated at around €20 million.

When he suddenly announced his early retirement on December 13th, his family and professional circle were very surprised. But no one would have expressed suspicion. In recent weeks, clients began to question anomalies in their accounts. Quickly, about ten of them realized they had been defrauded.

An investigation has been opened by the Bolzano prosecutor's office, but the bank advisor and the embezzled funds remain unaccounted for at this time. According to preliminary evidence, the money was transferred to foreign accounts and is therefore very difficult to access, if not irrecoverable.