AI fraud at Italian private bank Fideuram: 95 million euros in damage

Accordingly, the incident occurred at the private bank Fideuram, a subsidiary of Italy's largest bank Intesa Sanpaolo. In February, the then Fideuram board chairman Paolo Molesini received a WhatsApp message that appeared to come from Intesa Sanpaolo boss Carlo Messina - requesting urgent help with a foreign transaction. He then received a call purporting to be from a senior partner at a well-known law firm confirming the instruction. The callers used AI to imitate the lawyer's voice. Believing the request was genuine, Molesini then instructed his finance department to make transfers to accounts primarily in China and Hong Kong. Intesa Sanpaolo and Fideuram declined to comment.

The Reuters report does not reveal how the use of AI could be proven.

In total, the bank is said to have suffered damage of 95 million euros, but more than half of the sum was later recovered, said two insiders.

Boss resigns after incident

Fideuram reportedly discovered the irregularities and alerted authorities in several countries. Thanks to the cooperation of investigators in China, Portugal and Italy, a large part of the money was secured. The remaining funds were funneled through a network of foreign accounts and converted into cryptocurrencies.

Molesini resigned as chairman in March, citing personal reasons. According to the insiders, no investigation is being carried out against him or other Fideuram executives. However, the Milan public prosecutor's office is investigating a foreigner living in a non-European country on suspicion of computer fraud. Last year, fraudsters used an AI-impersonated voice of an Italian minister to trick a businessman into transferring almost one million euros. However, the money was recovered at that time.