Six managers of an Italian company that makes military-grade drones for Nato have been reported to prosecutors after a lengthy investigation by financial crimes police.

Tax police said the takeover of the unnamed company in north-east Italy, had broken arms laws, reports BBC.

Investigators said a firm based in Hong Kong had bought a majority stake in the drone company at 90 times its value.

But the real buyer, they said, was two state-owned companies in China.

They alleged a complex and opaque web of corporate holdings had been used to cover up the true identity of the new owner of 75% of the company.

The financial crimes unit also suspects the 2018 deal may have broken Italian "golden power" rules that bar or limit the sales of strategic assets to foreign investors.