Latest news with #CosaNostra
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Italian mafia use Chinese ‘underground banks' to launder money
Italy's mafia gangs are using Chinese 'underground banks' to launder money from drug trafficking and other crimes, a new report has revealed. Mafia groups are increasingly turning to a system known as Fei Ch'ien – 'flying money' – as a clandestine way of moving vast amounts of cash around the world. An underground banking network that originated in China, it operates through brokers in money exchanges, using encrypted communication systems and minimal record-keeping to make it hard for authorities to track. 'In relation to money laundering, there are links between Italian criminal organisations and Chinese groups who are active in underground banking,' the DIA, Italy's national anti-mafia agency, said in the report, entitled Follow the Money. The clandestine system is now being used extensively by 'big criminal organisations that want to secretly transfer money abroad to finance their criminal activities or to reinvest it', the report said. The DIA said mafia groups such as the Camorra of Naples, Cosa Nostra in Sicily and the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria were becoming increasingly adept at using digital technology to evade detection by the authorities. They employ encrypted communication channels such as EncroChat and Sky ECC, as well as messaging services such as Signal and Telegram. 'There has been a pronounced rise in the adoption of illicit financial instruments which are technologically sophisticated, including artificial intelligence models designed to elude checks,' the report said. Even when mafiosi are arrested, convicted and imprisoned, they are still able to maintain contacts with their criminal empires on the outside. The smuggling of mobile phones into prisons is commonplace and some are delivered by drone, according to the report. Meanwhile, Mafia organisations are increasingly recruiting young men from marginalised backgrounds in cities such as Naples and Rome to act as runners, lookouts and drug dealers. Such groups are known in Italy as 'baby gangs'. These are made up of bands of young delinquents and aspiring mafiosi who, armed with knives and firearms, fight each other for territorial control. Young people from areas with high unemployment are drawn to a life of crime partly by the easy money to be made but also by images that they see on social media, the DIA said. Teenage boys are attracted by 'misleading models of power and wealth' as well as 'ostentation and the promise of affirming their identities,' the report added, saying: 'The glorifying of luxury and violence, through images on social media, contributes to the creation of an image that is warped but very attractive to young people.' The DIA described the rise of 'baby gangs', fuelled by high levels of school absenteeism, unemployment and poverty, as 'particularly worrying'. The report also highlights how Mafia groups are trying to muscle in on the billions of euros swirling around Italy as the country embarks on a number of huge investment projects. They include plans to build a vast suspension bridge from Sicily – the home of Cosa Nostra – to Calabria, the territory of the 'Ndrangheta. Mafia dons have their eyes on the €200 billion of post-pandemic recovery funds that the EU granted to Italy, as well as the billions being spent in Rome to spruce up the city for this year's Jubilee, a special calendar of holy events organised by the Vatican. The crime bosses are also targeting huge amounts of money being spent on preparations for the 2026 Winter Olympics, which will be hosted by Milan and the ski resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the Dolomites. Italy's different mafia groups are putting aside the bloody feuds of the past and forging collaborative links, the DIA said, with the Cosa Nostra and the Camorra forming alliances at home and abroad. 'Coexistence has fostered synergies that have progressively become structured,' said Michele Carbone, the director of the agency. 'These structures have become 'capable of absorbing overlaps, tensions and frictions'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Italian mafia use Chinese ‘underground banks' to launder money
Italy's mafia gangs are using Chinese 'underground banks' to launder money from drug trafficking and other crimes, a new report has revealed. Mafia groups are increasingly turning to a system known as Fei Ch'ien – 'flying money' – as a clandestine way of moving vast amounts of cash around the world. An underground banking network that originated in China, it operates through brokers in money exchanges, using encrypted communication systems and minimal record-keeping to make it hard for authorities to track. 'In relation to money laundering, there are links between Italian criminal organisations and Chinese groups who are active in underground banking,' the DIA, Italy's national anti-mafia agency, said in the report, entitled Follow the Money. The clandestine system is now being used extensively by 'big criminal organisations that want to secretly transfer money abroad to finance their criminal activities or to reinvest it', the report said. The DIA said mafia groups such as the Camorra of Naples, Cosa Nostra in Sicily and the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria were becoming increasingly adept at using digital technology to evade detection by the authorities. They employ encrypted communication channels such as EncroChat and Sky ECC, as well as messaging services such as Signal and Telegram. 'There has been a pronounced rise in the adoption of illicit financial instruments which are technologically sophisticated, including artificial intelligence models designed to elude checks,' the report said. Even when mafiosi are arrested, convicted and imprisoned, they are still able to maintain contacts with their criminal empires on the outside. The smuggling of mobile phones into prisons is commonplace and some are delivered by drone, according to the report. Rise of the 'baby gangs' Meanwhile, Mafia organisations are increasingly recruiting young men from marginalised backgrounds in cities such as Naples and Rome to act as runners, lookouts and drug dealers. Such groups are known in Italy as 'baby gangs'. These are made up of bands of young delinquents and aspiring mafiosi who, armed with knives and firearms, fight each other for territorial control. Young people from areas with high unemployment are drawn to a life of crime partly by the easy money to be made but also by images that they see on social media, the DIA said. Teenage boys are attracted by 'misleading models of power and wealth' as well as 'ostentation and the promise of affirming their identities,' the report added, saying: 'The glorifying of luxury and violence, through images on social media, contributes to the creation of an image that is warped but very attractive to young people.' The DIA described the rise of 'baby gangs', fuelled by high levels of school absenteeism, unemployment and poverty, as 'particularly worrying'. The report also highlights how Mafia groups are trying to muscle in on the billions of euros swirling around Italy as the country embarks on a number of huge investment projects. They include plans to build a vast suspension bridge from Sicily – the home of Cosa Nostra – to Calabria, the territory of the 'Ndrangheta. Mafia dons have their eyes on the €200 billion of post-pandemic recovery funds that the EU granted to Italy, as well as the billions being spent in Rome to spruce up the city for this year's Jubilee, a special calendar of holy events organised by the Vatican. The crime bosses are also targeting huge amounts of money being spent on preparations for the 2026 Winter Olympics, which will be hosted by Milan and the ski resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the Dolomites. Italy's different mafia groups are putting aside the bloody feuds of the past and forging collaborative links, the DIA said, with the Cosa Nostra and the Camorra forming alliances at home and abroad. 'Coexistence has fostered synergies that have progressively become structured,' said Michele Carbone, the director of the agency. 'These structures have become 'capable of absorbing overlaps, tensions and frictions'.
AsiaOne
7 days ago
- Politics
- AsiaOne
Italy's mafia abandoning rivalries to join forces, report says, World News
ROME — Italy's mafia is turning away from violent turf wars to collaborate in drug trafficking, prostitution rings and money laundering, the national anti-mafia agency (DIA) said in an annual report about the organised crime groups on Tuesday (May 27). Sicily's Cosa Nostra and the Camorra around Naples are forming alliances at home and abroad, while the 'Ndrangheta, based in Calabria in Italy's southern toe, is increasingly focused on controlling public works projects, the report said. "Coexistence has fostered synergies that have progressively become structured," DIA director Michele Carbone told a press conference. These structures had become "capable of absorbing overlaps, tensions and frictions," he added. Public works linked to Italy's EU-backed post-Covid Recovery Fund, plans for a huge bridge connecting Sicily to the mainland, and preparations for the 2026 Winter Olympics were all in danger of mafia infiltration, the DIA report said. The construction sector represented 38 per cent of administrative anti-mafia measures in 2024, with investigations into 200 building sites for public projects. Carbone said the DIA was ready to block any mafia involvement in the bridge to Sicily. "Soon all anti-mafia prevention activities in connection with the construction of the bridge over the Strait (of Messina) will be started," he said. The DIA also highlighted the mafia's growing technological expertise, using encrypted communication channels and maintaining contacts with prison inmates through drones. Chinese "underground banking" networks are increasingly being used for money laundering, it said. At the same time, the recruitment of marginalised young people to commit crimes in what are called "baby gangs" is facilitated by spectacular displays of power on social media, the report said. [[nid:716168]]
South China Morning Post
27-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Italy's mafia joining forces, turning to Chinese ‘shadow banks', report says
Italy's mafia is turning away from violent turf wars to collaborate in drug trafficking, prostitution rings and money laundering, the national anti-mafia agency (DIA) said in an annual report about the organised crime groups on Tuesday. Sicily's Cosa Nostra and the Camorra around Naples are forming alliances at home and abroad, while the 'Ndrangheta, based in Calabria in Italy's southern toe, is increasingly focused on controlling public works projects, the report said. 'Coexistence has fostered synergies that have progressively become structured,' DIA director Michele Carbone told a press conference. These structures had become 'capable of absorbing overlaps, tensions and frictions,' he added. Public works linked to Italy's EU-backed post-Covid Recovery Fund, plans for a huge bridge connecting Sicily to the mainland, and preparations for the 2026 Winter Olympics were all in danger of mafia infiltration, the DIA report said. The construction sector represented 38 per cent of administrative anti-mafia measures in 2024, with investigations into 200 building sites for public projects. Two girls view posters of the Sicilian Mafia's top chief Bernardo Provenzano in Palermo in April 2005. Photo: AFP Carbone said the DIA was ready to block any mafia involvement in the bridge to Sicily.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Italy's mafia abandoning rivalries to join forces, report says
ROME (Reuters) -Italy's mafia is turning away from violent turf wars to collaborate in drug trafficking, prostitution rings and money laundering, the national anti-mafia agency (DIA) said in an annual report about the organized crime groups on Tuesday. Sicily's Cosa Nostra and the Camorra around Naples are forming alliances at home and abroad, while the 'Ndrangheta, based in Calabria in Italy's southern toe, is increasingly focused on controlling public works projects, the report said. "Coexistence has fostered synergies that have progressively become structured," DIA director Michele Carbone told a press conference. These structures had become "capable of absorbing overlaps, tensions and frictions," he added. Public works linked to Italy's EU-backed post-COVID Recovery Fund, plans for a huge bridge connecting Sicily to the mainland, and preparations for the 2026 Winter Olympics were all in danger of mafia infiltration, the DIA report said. The construction sector represented 38% of administrative anti-mafia measures in 2024, with investigations into 200 building sites for public projects. Carbone said the DIA was ready to block any mafia involvement in the bridge to Sicily. "Soon all anti-mafia prevention activities in connection with the construction of the bridge over the Strait (of Messina) will be started," he said. The DIA also highlighted the mafia's growing technological expertise, using encrypted communication channels and maintaining contacts with prison inmates through drones. Chinese "underground banking" networks are increasingly being used for money laundering, it said. At the same time, the recruitment of marginalised young people to commit crimes in what are called "baby gangs" is facilitated by spectacular displays of power on social media, the report said. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
