TLDR: some scammers impersonating the difense minister got 1 or more entrepeneurs to send them big payments quickly. The public discourse is around the "normalcy" of private entrepeneurs about sending money to elected officials

The situation was a bit more complex: the "minister" asks help to transfer some money in an Hong Kong bank account to release some Italians detained somewhere. Also logos of Bank of Italy was used.

It was a really well architect fraud.

"Crosetto first sounded the alarm of “a serious ongoing scam” in a social media post last week..."

Corsetto is the defence minister, the quote is from FT.com

Not sure that the lesson was fully internalised.