Mafias gobble up Italy’s tourism trade: ‘A tasty dish for crime bosses.’
The Tree of All, a piece by artist Gregor Prugger in reminiscence of the combat towards the Italian mafia and its victims. Taranto, Puglia, Italy 26.06.2024
Credit score: Shutterstock, Massimo Todaro
Inns and eating places served on a plate to organised crime.
Italy’s tourism sector has grow to be a buffet for the mafia, pocketing a whopping €3.3 billion a yr from struggling companies in hospitality. And with the 2025 Jubilee in Rome and the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on the menu, the mob is making ready to dig in for even greater earnings.
Criminals money in on disaster
From picturesque resorts to bustling pizzerias, organised crime syndicates are cashing in on Italy’s hospitality sector. Based on a stunning report by the Demoskopika institute, the notorious ‘Ndrangheta mafia, rooted in Calabria, is the worst offender, taking half of the unlawful earnings. Not far behind are the Camorra from Naples, Sicily’s Cosa Nostra, and fragmented crime teams from Puglia, all raking in thousands and thousands a yr.
What’s extra alarming? These mafias aren’t simply sticking to their southern strongholds. The report reveals they’ve infiltrated Italy’s wealthier north, feasting on practically €1.5 billion from companies that after appeared untouchable.
“Tasty prey” for the mob
Over 7,000 companies – about 15% of your complete tourism sector – are teetering on the sting, battling crippling money owed and money circulation crises. Demoskopika president Raffaele Rio described these corporations as “tasty prey” for legal gangs providing “assist.”
However there’s nothing beneficiant about their presents. The mafias lend cash at eye-watering charges, sinking their claws into companies and infrequently taking them over completely.
“They promise monetary survival, repay money owed, and assure liquidity,” stated Rio. “However the worth is devastating – management, or outright possession, of those corporations.”
This isn’t simply dangerous information for the homeowners. The mob’s grip is suffocating the authorized economic system, fuelling cash laundering, extortion, and usury that leaves legit companies gasping for air.
From Italy to Europe
It’s not simply an Italian drawback. Europol has warned that the ‘Ndrangheta mafia is investing soiled cash throughout Europe, funnelling drug and arms trafficking earnings into resorts, supermarkets, and actual property. What higher solution to conceal in plain sight?
The Mafia’s iron grip
The mafia’s stranglehold isn’t restricted to companies. In a weird twist, a Catholic nun was not too long ago arrested for allegedly carrying mafia messages to prisoners. And earlier this yr, the Italian authorities expanded a controversial programme to take away kids from mafia households, aiming to interrupt the cycle of legal behaviour handed down like a household heirloom.
With the Jubilee and Winter Olympics on the horizon, the mob’s urge for food for money is just set to develop. Rio known as their techniques “a perverse system that crushes entrepreneurs, strengthens the mafia’s energy, and suffocates the economic system.”
What’s subsequent for Italy?
Italy’s tourism trade is at a crossroads. Can it shake off the mafia’s chokehold earlier than main world occasions make issues worse? Or will the nation’s resorts and eating places stay a money cow for organised crime?
One factor’s for certain – the combat towards the mob is way from over if Italy needs to reclaim its tourism crown.
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