MILAN, Italy— Fraudsters posing as senior executives used artificial intelligence in a scheme that led Fideuram, the private banking arm of Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo, to transfer 95 million euros ($108 million) to overseas accounts, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The scheme began in February when Paolo Molesini, then Fideuram’s chairman, received a WhatsApp message that appeared to come from Intesa Sanpaolo CEO Carlo Messina, Reuters reported. It requested urgent help with an international payment. A subsequent call appeared to come from a senior partner at a major law firm and confirmed the request. The callers reportedly used AI to reproduce the lawyer’s voice.
Molesini then instructed Fideuram’s finance team to make several payments to accounts abroad, primarily in China and Hong Kong, the sources told Reuters.
Unusual Activity Detected
Fideuram detected unusual activity soon afterward and alerted financial institutions and authorities in multiple countries. Cooperation among authorities in Italy, China and Portugal helped recover about 53 million euros, according to the report. About 36 million euros remains unaccounted for after being moved through multiple foreign accounts and converted into cryptocurrency, the sources said.
The figures Reuters reported for the total transferred, recovered and still missing do not fully reconcile; the report did not account for the difference.
Molesini and other Fideuram executives are not under investigation, Reuters reported. Milan prosecutors are investigating a foreign national who lives outside Europe on suspicion of computer fraud, one source told the news agency.
Molesini stepped down as chairman in March, citing personal reasons. Fideuram gave no further explanation at the time.
