Two Romanians stopped in Italy in a Rolls-Royce with 100,000 euros in undeclared cash
Officers of the Guardia di Finanza stopped the car in the Palmanova area of Udine province. The administrative seizure was announced on Friday, 16 October 2026.
The stop near Palmanova
Officers of the Guardia di Finanza's Palmanova unit, part of the Udine provincial command, stopped a Rolls-Royce registered in Romania during checks near the border. Inside the car they found bundles of 100 and 50 euro notes. Reports describe the cash as more than 100,000 euros, but no exact total was released. The two Romanian citizens in the car told officers they had come from Romania, that the money belonged to a compatriot, and that it was meant for buying works of art. They could not produce the documents needed to justify carrying that sum.
The seizure and the law
Italian law requires anyone entering or leaving the country with at least 10,000 euros in cash to declare it to the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli, the customs and monopolies agency. A declaration can be sent electronically in advance or made at border customs offices when crossing. Carrying a sum above that threshold is not itself banned, and the violation lies in failing to declare it. For that breach, officers imposed an administrative seizure of 63,000 euros. According to the reports, the seized share varies with how far the amount exceeds the threshold. The rule also applies to people arriving from other European Union countries, including Romania.
Where the reports differ
Il Messaggero says the cash was in the boot rather than in a compartment, while other outlets place it in a hidden compartment of the vehicle. Il Messaggero also says the cash was carried in place of luggage, a detail the other reports do not mention. ANSA headlines the sum as 100,000 euros, while Libertatea says the authorities only indicated that the amount exceeded 100,000 euros. The figures therefore remain approximate, and the seized sum of 63,000 euros is the only exact amount in the reports.
The announcement and what remains unclear
The operation was announced on Friday, 16 October 2026 by the Udine provincial command. It formed part of Guardia di Finanza checks on cross-border cash movements, which the reports say are meant to ensure financial transparency and to fight illicit trafficking. The authorities did not identify the two Romanian citizens, did not name the alleged owner of the money, and did not say which artworks were to be bought. No charge or criminal proceeding is mentioned in the reports, which describe only the administrative seizure.