According to the latest official data, the mafia in Italy killed only 17 people in 2022, compared to more than 700 in 1991. “They rarely get their hands dirty anymore. Blackmail has gone out of fashion, and the godfathers generally condemn the murders,” writes the Reuters agency.
Mobsters have moved aggressively into the low-risk and low-profile world of white-collar crime, senior Italian prosecutors told the agency. The shift to tax evasion and financial fraud is also indicated by the billions of euros that have been rolled out in Italy as part of recovery funds after the end of the covid pandemic, which were supposed to support the economy, but turned out to be an advantage for fraudsters.
Last month, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government revealed 16 billion euros (400 billion crowns) in fraud linked to housing improvement programs. Prosecutors are also investigating the possible massive misuse of the European Union’s stimulus package worth 200 billion (approximately five trillion crowns).
Not all fraud is organized by powerful Italian organized crime groups, prosecutors say, but they suspect many are. “It would be foolish to think they wouldn’t take advantage of the huge influx of money,” said Barbara Sargenti, the National Office of Anti-Mafia and Terrorism.
Tags: Murders fashion Italian mafia switched tunneling European funds
