ITALY'S Mafia groups have a bigger annual budget than the European Union, the country's foreign ministry has claimed.
Giovanni Brauzzi, security policy director at the ministry, claims the Mob's annual income has passed the €200bn (£166bn) mark compared with the total EU spend of €140bn (£116bn).
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Confesercenti report described the Mafia as the "biggest bank" in the country with €65bn in liquidity and said a growing number of small and medium sized businesses were coming into contact with the Mob.
Experts have warned that Italy's brutal recession, combined with its banks' reluctance to lend money, has left more and more businesses turning to organised crime for help.
Speaking at a conference in Brussels this week, Brauzzi said that crime syndicates in Italy had also begun to shift their "investments" overseas, with just 10 per cent of their budget still parked within the country. "The rest they invest in countries in Europe and elsewhere," he said. "They have good friends everywhere."
Organised crime has infiltrated "the most important companies working in financial transactions", he said. "Corruption is the easiest way of doing business in their framework."
The news comes as the centre-right Forza Italia party, led by disgraced former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, was this week accused of trying to destroy a bill aimed at stopping the Mafia's ability to sell votes to corrupt politicians in the south of Italy, reports The Independent.
The money-for-votes racket is a key means by which the Mafia earns money and maintains power and influence.
The legislation, which has already passed through the Senate, is at risk of being smothered by 1,000 or so amendments from Forza Italia MPs.
-
Could Trump run for a third term?The Explainer Constitutional amendment limits US presidents to two terms, but Trump diehards claim there is a loophole
-
Political cartoons for November 28Cartoons Friday's political cartoons include economic diagnosis, climate distractions, and more
-
What does the fall in net migration mean for the UK?Today’s Big Question With Labour and the Tories trying to ‘claim credit’ for lower figures, the ‘underlying picture is far less clear-cut’
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Daylight saving time: a Spanish controversyUnder the Radar Spain’s prime minister has called on the EU to remove biannual clock changes in Europe
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Moldova gives decisive win to pro-EU partySpeed Read The country is now on track to join the European Union within five years
