From the rogatory letter from the Ravenna Prosecutor’s Office to the searches: seven people and the company under investigation. The investigation also includes relationships with banks and the alleged pressure from the director to avoid due diligence
SAN MARINO – New details emerge on the investigation involving Giochi del Titano and seven people, including the director and CEO Salvatore Caronia (pictured)the deputy director Angelo Muraccini and other officials and employees of the Rovereta gaming house. The case (in-depth in an article by Antonio Fabbri published in L’Informazione di San Marino) concerns the hypothesis of recycling and self-laundering for approximately 7.5 million euros between 2019 and 2026.
According to what was reconstructed by the investigators as part of the investigations initiated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Ravenna and transmitted to the San Marino authorities through a letter rogatory in January 2026, the system originated from a circuit of invoices for non-existent operations attributable to Italian paper mill companies.
At the center of the proceedings are Elio Marino and his partner Aizada Chokoevaaccused of having transferred large sums of money to San Marino believed to be of illicit origin. According to the investigative hypothesis, Marino would have managed four paper mill companies formally registered in the name of family members, from which over seven and a half million euros would have been transferred to other companies without employees and operational structures. The sums were subsequently withdrawn in cash in Lombardy and transported to San Marino.
The money would then have been used to make substantial plays on the Giochi del Titano slot machines. The sums corresponding to the winnings would have subsequently been paid through over a thousand checks with a reason attributable to gambling winnings or through top-ups on prepaid cards. The checks would then have been deposited in San Marino banking institutions, including Banca di San Marino, BSI and above all Banca Agricola Commerciale.
The amount of suspicious transactions reconstructed through the traced movements is equal to 7,493,421.67 euros. The figure does not include any winnings paid directly in cash by the gaming house, which can liquidate amounts of up to 12,500 euros.
During the anti-money laundering checks, Banca Agricola Commerciale and Banca di San Marino made several reports of suspicious transactions to the Financial Intelligence Agency. In particular, the Commercial Agricultural Bank would have asked a Elio Marino the documentation relating to the tax return, after having noted the frequency of payments linked to the presumed winnings.
In this context, according to the accusatory framework, he intervened Salvatore Caroniawho allegedly contacted bank officials contesting the request for tax documentation and envisaging a possible review of the commercial relations between Giochi del Titano and the institute in the event that the request was not withdrawn.
The investigations also revealed the hypothesis of possible complicity within the gaming house. The interceptions would have documented alleged agreements between Elio Marino, Aizada Chokoeva and some employees of Giochi del Titano to facilitate the games. The couple would have been allowed the exclusive use of some equipment, possibly through fault reports or temporary blocks.
The investigators are also verifying references, which emerged in the intercepted conversations, to a possible percentage of 20% requested by some employees as compensation. The investigative hypothesis of complicity in money laundering concerns, in addition to Marino and Chokoeva, Salvatore Caronia, Alessandro Calzolari, Angelo Muraccini, Monica Valenti And Dominga Venerucci. Giochi del Titano as a legal person is also under investigation.
A further chapter concerns the slots used by the couple. The Commissioners of the Law Roberto Battaglino and Elisa Beccari they ordered searches in the premises of Giochi del Titano, in the homes and IT devices of the suspects. The activity led to the seizure of telephones, computers and other IT media, as well as the sealing of ten slot machines, including motherboards and internal memories.
The technical analyzes will have to establish whether there have been any tampering with the software, cloning of cards, alterations in winning rates or other modifications to the IT systems. If these hypotheses were verified, the investigation could also extend to charges of fraud.
The affair also raises questions about the management of the company, which is publicly owned and represents one of the main taxpayers of the San Marino Treasury. Among the aspects under consideration is also the fact that, according to the investigators, in light of the reports made by the banking institutions to the AIF, there were no similar reports coming from the gaming house.
The framework of the investigation and the related disputes remain the subject of investigation in the subsequent phases of the proceedings.
