Italian police said Wednesday they were investigating a group of people suspected of skimming millions of euros off government contracts for anti-coronavirus face masks from China.

The contracts, signed by the government's coronavirus crisis commissioner Domenico Arcuri with three Chinese consortiums, were for the supply of more than 800 million masks for 1.25 billion euros ($1.5 billion).

According to the financial crimes police, a group of middlemen pocketed illegal commissions worth "tens of millions of euros", paid by the Chinese side to make the deal happen.

The unnamed suspects are accused of influence peddling, trading in stolen goods and money laundering and had 70 million euros' worth of assets seized from them, police said.

The assets taken into judicial custody include real estate, financial and insurance holdings, company shares, and luxury items including jewellery, cars, motorbikes and a yacht.

Arcuri's office said it had been the victim of the alleged scam and was considering legal action for compensation.

Italy has been in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic for a year. More than 94,000 people with Covid-19 have died, according to official records, and the economy is in deep recession.

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