Mafia is now Italy’s ‘biggest bank’ – and they’re squeezing the life out of small business

Nick Pisa
Mail Online
January 11, 2012

Organised crime is the biggest earner in Italy – with a turnover of more £100 billion a year – according to a report by business chiefs. 

Extortion and intimidation is used to extract millions from shopkeepers, restaurants, cinemas, construction companies and thousands of other businesses as the godfathers spread their criminal enterprises across the whole of the country.

As a result of the ongoing economic crisis the Mafia is also cashing in with its traditional money-raising means of loan sharking – charging extortionate interest rates to hard-pressed businesses who are unable to raise funds.

According to a report titled Criminality’s Grip On Business, the various Mafia groups across Italy make a profit of around £116 billion a year – a figure equivalent to seven per cent of the country’s GDP.

Read full report here

This article was posted: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 10:31 am

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