Lawyer Antonio Siracusa (75) and 50-year-old businessman Tommaso Caruso were accused of using fictitious documents to try to convince Nedbank Jersey that they had legal rights to an account which they thought contained the cash.
Freelance writer Enrico Verga, who acted as an interpreter when they turned up unannounced at the bank along with two members of the Italian military police, was also accused of knowingly taking part in the alleged scam.
The trio always denied a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud, and following three days’ deliberation, jurors acquitted the defendants on Wednesday afternoon.
Seconds after the verdicts were returned, the men hugged and shook hands with their advocates.
As he left court Mr Verga, the only English-speaking defendant, said: ‘It is a huge relief. Justice has been done.
‘I was innocent at the beginning and I am innocent now.
‘I’m in the media, so when I get home I am going to write about my experience.’
The men then said goodbye to their advocates before leaving the court in a taxi, and it is understood they left the Island last night.
During the three-week Assize trial, the prosecution claimed that Mr Siracusa, who runs a law firm in Monza, near Milan, and Mr Caruso, who lives in Milan but works in Vienna, were at the heart of a major scam involving many other alleged fraudsters who were never caught.
It was claimed that the duo used fictitious documents in an attempt to fool Nedbank Jersey on the Esplanade into believing that money belonging to a trust called the Five Star Trust had been transferred from Deutsche Bank and that they had legal rights to it. In reality, the money never existed.
Mr Verga, who was unanimously cleared by the jury, was recruited at a later stage, shortly before the men, along with two Carabinieri officers, turned up at the bank in February.
The prosecution claimed that during the two-hour meeting, the men tried to access the funds, or at least come away with a piece of information or document, such as headed bank paper, which would allow them to advance the scam elsewhere.
However, bank staff became suspicious and reported the men to the police, and Mr Siracusa, who was represented in court by Advocate David Cadin, was arrested at the Airport the following day.
Mr Caruso, represented by Advocate Christina Hall, and Mr Verga, defended by Advocate Damian Evans, were detained a day later.
During the trial, Mr Siracusa claimed that he was the real victim of a wider scam, and that he thought he was involved in a legitimate humanitarian enterprise.
He told jurors that he was to receive no payment, and that he believed the money was to be used to help find a cure for cancer and the Ebola virus.
Mr Caruso, meanwhile, said he only became involved because he saw that Mr Siracusa was falling victim to a scam, and wanted to prove to his friend that he was being targeted by fraudsters.
And Mr Verga told jurors that he always believed he had been hired to work as a translator for a legitimate business deal.
