Customs officers on the Swiss-Italian border have stepped up their fight against tax avoidance and money laundering by installing a detector system to pick up large sums of cash, paper documents and precious gems.

The system has been installed at Ponte Chiasso and will spread further afield over the next few days.

Italian authorities say that anyone trying to take €10,000 or more across the border will be fined and face further investigation.

In addition to the extra checks, Italian authorities are calling an amnesty for people who are trying to avoid taxes by putting their money in overseas banks.

They estimate that between €70 billion and €100 billion could be declared during the two and a half month amnesty, 45 percent of that coming from Swiss bank accounts.