ITALIAN LAWMAKERS have asked Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government to explain what measures the country has taken to combat imports of gold from Brazil that show signs of illegality. The request cites reports published by Repórter Brasil on how Italian refineries purchased gold from companies investigated for links to illegal mining operations in the Amazon.
The Parliamentary Question – the technical term for this type of request – was submitted on March 31 by MP Angelo Bonelli, of the Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra (Greens and Left Alliance) coalition. It was also signed by seven other lawmakers from the coalition and addressed to the ministers of the Interior, Economy and Finance, Environment and Energy Security, and Foreign Affairs.
The lawmakers want to know whether Italy’s current traceability and verification tools are adequate to address the risk of gold imports linked to environmental crimes, document forgery, and violations of Indigenous peoples’ rights. The parliamentary question also asks what initiatives the government intends to take, including through diplomatic channels, to prevent Italy from becoming a destination for gold illegally extracted from the Amazon.
Investigated suppliers
In June 2025, a report showed that the Italian refinery Italpreziosi had purchased the mineral from an importer under investigation in a scheme involving illegal gold extraction in Itaituba, in southwestern Pará state. According to police investigations, the criminal scheme involved Brazilian companies issuing false invoices — including in the names of deceased individuals — to conceal the true origin of the gold. Investigators say part of the product was extracted from illegal mining sites in the Munduruku Indigenous Territory.
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In May 2024, Repórter Brasil had already shown that a shipment of 5 kilograms of gold powder mixed into 15 tonnes of charcoal had been purchased