Italy’s finance police has held in custody €17 million of assets from BNP Paribas’ (BNP) Italian unit, Bloomberg reports. The assets have been seized as part of a probe into the sale of derivatives to the cities of Messina and Taormina. BNP’s Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL) has been accused of committing fraud by misleading the cities on swaps. The seized assets represent the alleged hidden fees that BNL charged on the swaps from 2002 through 2007.

Click here for the story from Bloomberg.

Click here for additional coverage from Reuters.