The extremely tense - economic and social - situation in Italy, which until recently was the country hardest hit by the spreading novel virus, appears to be playing into the hands of organised crime groups, Politico reported. The edition noted that conditions are even more conducive at the moment, as the bulk of law enforcement is expertly engaged in the battle against the coronavirus.
Predatory mafia syndicates, notorious for operating during times of crises in Italy, have stepped in to infiltrate legitimate private businesses to take advantage of weaknesses, cited officials say, adding the worrisome trend is likely to precede an overall spike in criminality well beyond the pandemic – and, importantly, well beyond Italy.
“There is no [EU] country that is exempt from this problem”, Sabrina Pignedoli, an MEP from Italy’s 5Star Movement, told Politico.
Maurizio De Lucia, Messina’s chief prosecutor, recounted to the magazine, how a typical scheme may play out: “The mafia offers a loan to a business owner who needs money. He knows who he is dealing with but thinks he can manage the situation. He is mistaken”, he then depicted what he referred to as “the method”.
When using the economic chaos to illegally infiltrate legal tax-paying but currently cash-strapped entities, mafia groups eventually grab indirect access to the business owner’s books and use him or her to further extort money, for instance, from banks, De Lucia specified.
The owner, he said, is turned into a so-called prestanome, or front man, for the mafia, which benefits from his business contacts with the banks and other financial institutions. Another scheme that is reportedly much feared in Italy now is the mafia siphoning off EU and national funds earmarked for the revival of crisis-hit infrastructure, like medical institutions, paralysed factories, small and medium businesses, etc.
“They will work anywhere where there is a capacity to corrupt officials, who will fall into the trap, either because they are ingénues or willing to be corrupted”, said Governale, Italy’s anti-mafia chief.
Some criminal groups are also developing new activities to exploit the emergency, as suggested by a report by Europol. It found among other things that the trade of counterfeit medical kits, like substandard masks, gloves, and pharmaceuticals is “booming” in the pandemic economy.
The raging corona healthcare crisis has caused serious economic fallout, which will need to be dealt with in the months to come. The pandemic has seen as many as over 1,300,000 infected globally and about 79,000 dead, per WHO estimates.