AI Voice Scam Costs Intesa's Private Banking Arm €95m
Fraudsters impersonating senior executives used AI-reproduced voice to extract €95m from Fideuram, Intesa Sanpaolo's private banking arm. About €53m was recovered; roughly €36m remains unaccounted for.
A Private Banking Arm, a Fake Voice
Fraudsters posing as senior executives used artificial intelligence to take €95m ($108m) from Fideuram, the private banking arm of Intesa Sanpaolo, according to Reuters, citing sources. Banks and authorities subsequently recovered approximately €53m, leaving about €36m unaccounted for.
The operation began in February, when Paolo Molesini, then Fideuram's chairman, received a WhatsApp message that appeared to have been sent by Intesa Sanpaolo chief executive Carlo Messina. The message requested urgent assistance with an international payment.
A Confirming Call
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 directed Fideuram's finance team to make several payments to bank accounts abroad, primarily in China and Hong Kong, the sources said.
The fraud combined an impersonated executive message with an AI-reproduced voice call before any payment was authorised.
Detection and Recovery
The bank identified unusual activity soon afterwards and informed financial institutions and authorities in multiple countries. Cooperation between authorities in China, Portugal and Italy led to the recovery of roughly €53m.
The rest of the money has not been located. According to the sources, it was moved through multiple overseas accounts before being exchanged for cryptocurrencies.
Investigators and Aftermath
Molesini and other Fideuram executives are not under investigation, the sources said. Milan prosecutors are investigating a foreign national living outside Europe on suspicion of computer fraud, one source said. Molesini left his chairman role in March, referring to personal reasons; Fideuram did not provide any further explanation at the time. Intesa Sanpaolo and Fideuram declined to comment.
What the Case Exposes
The episode places an operational risk—authorisation controls and executive-impersonation fraud—at the centre of a private banking business. The reported mechanics are specific: an executive's messaging identity, a confirmation call whose voice was AI-reproduced, and instructions routed to a finance team that then issued cross-border payments.
The recovery outcome also points to the limits of after-the-fact intervention. Roughly €53m was clawed back through multi-country cooperation, but the remainder was moved through overseas accounts and converted into cryptocurrencies. For private banks and their clients, the case is a reminder that payment authentication and escalation procedures are the front line, and that speed of detection shapes what can be recovered.
