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Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Chinese mafia conflict escalates in Italy's fast fashion hub of Prato
CHINESE MAFIA VIOLENCE THREATENS PRATO'S FAST FASHION INDUSTRY Italian prosecutors request national support as crime escalates in Europe's top garment manufacturing hub Productivity Tool Zero to Hero in Microsoft Excel: Complete Excel guide By Metla Sudha Sekhar View Program Finance Introduction to Technical Analysis & Candlestick Theory By Dinesh Nagpal View Program Finance Financial Literacy i e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By CA Rahul Gupta View Program Digital Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Neil Patel By Neil Patel View Program Finance Technical Analysis Demystified- A Complete Guide to Trading By Kunal Patel View Program Productivity Tool Excel Essentials to Expert: Your Complete Guide By Study at home View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals Batch 2 By Ansh Mehra View Program Rising mafia violence in Prato's fast fashion sector by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villas For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Villas in Dubai | Search Ads Get Info Following the April shooting of Zhang Dayong in Rome, law enforcement has linked the violence to an ongoing conflict in Prato, a central hub in Italy's fast fashion industry. Prosecutors describe the situation as a 'hanger war' among Chinese mafia groups, competing for control of apparel transport and hanger production, an estimated €100 million ($115 million) market. Prato prosecutor Luca Tescaroli has requested intervention from Rome, including the deployment of an anti-mafia division and additional resources for law enforcement and judicial offices. He has warned that the conflict has become a significant criminal enterprise with reach into France and Spain. Live Events Also read: Italy fines fast-fashion giant Shein for 'green' claims Tescaroli stated the Chinese mafia in Prato also "promotes the illegal immigration of workers of various nationalities," supporting its labor demands. Illegal labor and tax evasion fuel fast fashion output Prato's apparel industry includes approximately 5,000 small-scale, mostly Chinese-run knitwear and textile subcontractors. The sector, central to Italy's fast fashion economy, has long faced scrutiny for labor and safety violations, tax evasion, and customs fraud. Investigators report that many factories smuggle fabric from China and avoid duties, while profits are funneled back through illegal transfers. To minimize costs, operators rely on immigrant labor from China and Pakistan. Tescaroli has described this labor pool as "essential for its proper functioning." Union representatives estimate some workers earn €3 per hour, laboring up to 13 hours per day, seven days a week. Riccardo Tamborrino of Sudd Cobas stated the system is 'not just one or two bad apples, but a well-oiled system,' characterized by rapid factory closures and reopenings to evade regulation. Also read: How Mafia is turning wildfires into weapons of power and profit? Berkeley study reveals Francesca Ciuffi, also of Sudd Cobas, added, 'Police complaints from attacked workers ended up in a drawer, never reaching the court.' Key mafia figures and transnational operations Prosecutors have identified Zhang Naizhong as a central figure in Prato's criminal underworld. Described in a 2017 court document as 'the leading figure in the unscrupulous circles of the Chinese community,' Zhang allegedly holds a monopoly on apparel transportation across Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, and Germany. Zhang Dayong, shot and killed in Rome alongside his girlfriend, was identified as Naizhong's deputy. His murder followed a series of fires targeting company warehouses in Paris and Madrid. Francesco Nannucci, former head of Prato's investigative police, said the Chinese mafia also runs betting operations, drug trafficking, and prostitution, and acts as a financial conduit for Italian criminal groups. 'To be able to command in Prato means being able to lead in much of Europe,' Nannucci stated. Naizhong was acquitted of usury charges in 2022, in a trial disrupted by missing documents and the lack of qualified translators. Authorities believe he may now be in China. Corruption and labor organizing amidst unrest The industry operates amid reported corruption involving both local officials and law enforcement. In May 2024, the second-in-command of Prato's Carabinieri was accused of providing entrepreneurs, including Chinese businessmen, with confidential information from police databases. In June, the city's mayor resigned during a separate corruption probe involving vote trading. Also read: Canada's biggest mafia boss Leonardo Rizzuto and 11 others arrested in Quebec under the most significant c Trucks continue moving garments day and night through Prato's industrial zones, where warehouses and showrooms bear names such as 'Miss Fashion' and 'Ohlala Pronto Moda.' Pakistani and Chinese workers load fabrics and apparel for distribution across Europe. On a recent weekday, Pakistani workers picketed outside a shuttered factory that had agreed to provide legal contracts days before. Muhammed Akram, 44, witnessed the factory owner removing equipment at night. 'Sneaky boss,' he said. Union organizers note that Chinese workers, often brought to Italy by mafia networks, rarely participate in strikes due to fear of retaliation. Despite organizing efforts that have secured contracts at more than 70 companies, Ciuffi said such progress does not protect individuals from mafia violence. 'People who wake up in the morning, quietly going to work, risk getting seriously injured, if not worse, because of a war that doesn't concern them.'
Fashion Network
5 days ago
- Fashion Network
Italy's fast fashion hub Prato becomes Chinese mafia battlefield
When Zhang Dayong lay in a pool of blood on a sidewalk in Rome after being shot six times, few suspected a link to Italy's storied textile hub of Prato. But a "hanger war" is raging in the city near Florence - turning Europe's largest apparel manufacturing centre and a pillar of Made in Italy production into a battleground for warring Chinese mafia groups. The situation has become so urgent that Prato's prosecutor, Luca Tescaroli, has appealed to Rome for help, calling for an anti-mafia division and reinforcements for judges and police. Tescaroli has warned that the escalation in crime has become a huge business operation and moved beyond Italy, particularly to France and Spain. The gangs are battling to control the production of hundreds of millions of clothes hangers each year - the market is estimated to be worth 100 million euros (115 million dollars) - and the bigger prize of transporting apparel. The Chinese mafia also "promotes the illegal immigration of workers of various nationalities" for Prato, Tescaroli told AFP. The veteran anti-mafia prosecutor said the "phenomenon has been underestimated", allowing the mafia to expand its reach. With one of Europe's largest Chinese communities, the city of nearly 200,000 people has seen Chinese business owners and factory workers beaten or threatened in recent months, with cars and warehouses burned. The ex-head of Prato's police investigative unit, Francesco Nannucci, said the Chinese mafia run betting dens, prostitution and drugs - and provide their Italian counterparts with under-the-radar money transfers. For mafia leaders, "to be able to command in Prato means being able to lead in much of Europe," Nannucci told AFP. Chinese groups in the district thrive on the so-called "Prato system", long rife with corruption and irregularities, particularly in the fast-fashion sector, such as labour and safety violations plus tax and customs fraud. Prato's 5,000-odd apparel and knitwear businesses, mostly small, Chinese-run subcontractors, churn out low-priced items that end up in shops across Europe. They pop up quickly and shut down just as fast, playing a cat-and-mouse game with authorities to avoid taxes or fines. Fabric is smuggled from China, evading customs duties and taxes, while profits are returned to China via illegal money transfers. To stay competitive, the sector relies on cheap, around-the-clock labour, mostly from China and Pakistan, which Tescaroli told a Senate committee in January was "essential for its proper functioning". "It's not just one or two bad apples, but a well-oiled system they use, and do very well - closing, reopening, not paying taxes," said Riccardo Tamborrino, a Sudd Cobas union organiser leading strikes on behalf of immigrants. Investigators say the immigrants work seven days a week, 13 hours a day for about three euros (3.40 dollars) an hour. Tamborrino said Prato's apparel industry was "free from laws, from contracts". "It's no secret," he said. "All this is well known." Trucks lumber day and night through the streets of Prato's industrial zone, an endless sprawl of asphalt lined with warehouses and apparel showrooms with names like "Miss Fashion" and "Ohlala Pronto Moda". Open metal doors reveal loaded garment racks, rolls of fabric and stacks of boxes awaiting shipment - the final step controlled by Zhang Naizhong, whom prosecutors dub the "boss of bosses" within Italy's Chinese mafia. A 2017 court document described Zhang as the "leading figure in the unscrupulous circles of the Chinese community" in Europe, with a monopoly on the transport sector and operations in France, Spain, Portugal and Germany. Zhang Dayong, the man killed in Rome alongside his girlfriend in April, was Zhang Naizhong's deputy. The shootings followed three massive fires set at his warehouses outside Paris and Madrid in previous months. Nannucci believes Naizhong could be in China, after his 2022 acquittal for usury in a huge ongoing Chinese mafia trial plagued by problems - including a lack of translators and missing files. On a recent weekday, a handful of Pakistani men picketed outside the company that had employed them, after it shut down overnight having just agreed to give workers a contract under Italian law. Muhammed Akram, 44, saw his boss quietly emptying the factory of sewing machines, irons and other equipment. "Sneaky boss," he said, in broken Italian. Chinese garment workers, who are in the majority in Prato and often brought to Italy by the mafia, never picket, union activists say - they are too frightened to protest. Changes in apparel manufacturing, globalisation and migration have all contributed to the so-called "Prato system". So has corruption. In May 2024, the second-in-command within Prato's Carabinieri police was accused of giving Italian and Chinese entrepreneurs - among them a chamber of commerce businessman - access to the police database for information, including on workers. Police complaints from attacked workers "ended up in a drawer, never reaching the court", Sudd Cobas organiser Francesca Ciuffi told AFP. Prato's mayor resigned in June in a corruption investigation, accused of trading favours with the businessman for votes. In recent months, the union has secured regular contracts under national law for workers at over 70 companies. That will not help those caught in Prato's mafia war, however, where "bombs have exploded and warehouses have been burned down", said Ciuffi. "People who wake up in the morning, quietly going to work, risk getting seriously injured, if not worse, because of a war that doesn't concern them."
Fashion Network
5 days ago
- Business
- Fashion Network
Italy's fast fashion hub Prato becomes Chinese mafia battlefield
The Chinese mafia also "promotes the illegal immigration of workers of various nationalities" for Prato, Tescaroli told AFP. The veteran anti-mafia prosecutor said the "phenomenon has been underestimated", allowing the mafia to expand its reach. With one of Europe's largest Chinese communities, the city of nearly 200,000 people has seen Chinese business owners and factory workers beaten or threatened in recent months, with cars and warehouses burned. The ex-head of Prato's police investigative unit, Francesco Nannucci, said the Chinese mafia run betting dens, prostitution and drugs - and provide their Italian counterparts with under-the-radar money transfers. For mafia leaders, "to be able to command in Prato means being able to lead in much of Europe," Nannucci told AFP. Chinese groups in the district thrive on the so-called "Prato system", long rife with corruption and irregularities, particularly in the fast-fashion sector, such as labour and safety violations plus tax and customs fraud. Prato's 5,000-odd apparel and knitwear businesses, mostly small, Chinese-run subcontractors, churn out low-priced items that end up in shops across Europe. They pop up quickly and shut down just as fast, playing a cat-and-mouse game with authorities to avoid taxes or fines. Fabric is smuggled from China, evading customs duties and taxes, while profits are returned to China via illegal money transfers. To stay competitive, the sector relies on cheap, around-the-clock labour, mostly from China and Pakistan, which Tescaroli told a Senate committee in January was "essential for its proper functioning". "It's not just one or two bad apples, but a well-oiled system they use, and do very well - closing, reopening, not paying taxes," said Riccardo Tamborrino, a Sudd Cobas union organiser leading strikes on behalf of immigrants. Investigators say the immigrants work seven days a week, 13 hours a day for about three euros (3.40 dollars) an hour. Tamborrino said Prato's apparel industry was "free from laws, from contracts". "It's no secret," he said. "All this is well known." Trucks lumber day and night through the streets of Prato's industrial zone, an endless sprawl of asphalt lined with warehouses and apparel showrooms with names like "Miss Fashion" and "Ohlala Pronto Moda". Open metal doors reveal loaded garment racks, rolls of fabric and stacks of boxes awaiting shipment - the final step controlled by Zhang Naizhong, whom prosecutors dub the "boss of bosses" within Italy's Chinese mafia. A 2017 court document described Zhang as the "leading figure in the unscrupulous circles of the Chinese community" in Europe, with a monopoly on the transport sector and operations in France, Spain, Portugal and Germany. Zhang Dayong, the man killed in Rome alongside his girlfriend in April, was Zhang Naizhong's deputy. The shootings followed three massive fires set at his warehouses outside Paris and Madrid in previous months. Nannucci believes Naizhong could be in China, after his 2022 acquittal for usury in a huge ongoing Chinese mafia trial plagued by problems - including a lack of translators and missing files. On a recent weekday, a handful of Pakistani men picketed outside the company that had employed them, after it shut down overnight having just agreed to give workers a contract under Italian law. Muhammed Akram, 44, saw his boss quietly emptying the factory of sewing machines, irons and other equipment. "Sneaky boss," he said, in broken Italian. Chinese garment workers, who are in the majority in Prato and often brought to Italy by the mafia, never picket, union activists say - they are too frightened to protest. Changes in apparel manufacturing, globalisation and migration have all contributed to the so-called "Prato system". So has corruption. In May 2024, the second-in-command within Prato's Carabinieri police was accused of giving Italian and Chinese entrepreneurs - among them a chamber of commerce businessman - access to the police database for information, including on workers. Police complaints from attacked workers "ended up in a drawer, never reaching the court", Sudd Cobas organiser Francesca Ciuffi told AFP. Prato's mayor resigned in June in a corruption investigation, accused of trading favours with the businessman for votes. In recent months, the union has secured regular contracts under national law for workers at over 70 companies. That will not help those caught in Prato's mafia war, however, where "bombs have exploded and warehouses have been burned down", said Ciuffi. "People who wake up in the morning, quietly going to work, risk getting seriously injured, if not worse, because of a war that doesn't concern them."
New Straits Times
6 days ago
- New Straits Times
Italy's fast fashion hub becomes Chinese mafia battlefield
WHEN Zhang Dayong lay in a pool of blood on a sidewalk in Rome after being shot six times, few suspected a link to Italy's storied textile hub of Prato. But a "hanger war" is raging in the city near Florence – turning Europe's largest apparel manufacturing centre and a pillar of Made in Italy production into a battleground for warring Chinese mafia groups. The situation has become so urgent that Prato's prosecutor, Luca Tescaroli, has appealed to Rome for help, calling for an anti-mafia division and reinforcements for judges and police. Tescaroli has warned that the escalation in crime has become a huge business operation and moved beyond Italy, particularly to France and Spain. The gangs are battling to control the production of hundreds of millions of clothes hangers each year – the market is estimated to be worth 100 million euros (US$115 million) – and the bigger prize of transporting apparel. The Chinese mafia also "promotes the illegal immigration of workers of various nationalities" for Prato, Tescaroli told AFP. The veteran anti-mafia prosecutor said the "phenomenon has been underestimated", allowing the mafia to expand its reach. With one of Europe's largest Chinese communities, the city of nearly 200,000 people has seen Chinese business owners and factory workers beaten or threatened in recent months, with cars and warehouses burned. The ex-head of Prato's police investigative unit, Francesco Nannucci, said the Chinese mafia run betting dens, prostitution and drugs – and provide their Italian counterparts with under-the-radar money transfers. For mafia leaders, "to be able to command in Prato means being able to lead in much of Europe," Nannucci told AFP. Chinese groups in the district thrive on the so-called "Prato system", long rife with corruption and irregularities, particularly in the fast-fashion sector, such as labour and safety violations plus tax and customs fraud. Prato's 5,000-odd apparel and knitwear businesses, mostly small, Chinese-run subcontractors, churn out low-priced items that end up in shops across Europe. They pop up quickly and shut down just as fast, playing a cat-and-mouse game with authorities to avoid taxes or fines. Fabric is smuggled from China, evading customs duties and taxes, while profits are returned to China via illegal money transfers. To stay competitive, the sector relies on cheap, around-the-clock labour, mostly from China and Pakistan, which Tescaroli told a Senate committee in January was "essential for its proper functioning." "It's not just one or two bad apples, but a well-oiled system they use, and do very well – closing, reopening, not paying taxes," said Riccardo Tamborrino, a Sudd Cobas union organiser leading strikes on behalf of immigrants. Investigators say the immigrants work seven days a week, 13 hours a day for about three euros ($3.40) an hour. Tamborrino said Prato's apparel industry was "free from laws, from contracts." "It's no secret," he said. "All this is well known." Trucks lumber day and night through the streets of Prato's industrial zone, an endless sprawl of asphalt lined with warehouses and apparel showrooms with names like "Miss Fashion" and "Ohlala Pronto Moda." Open metal doors reveal loaded garment racks, rolls of fabric and stacks of boxes awaiting shipment – the final step controlled by Zhang Naizhong, whom prosecutors dub the "boss of bosses" within Italy's Chinese mafia. A 2017 court document described Zhang as the "leading figure in the unscrupulous circles of the Chinese community" in Europe, with a monopoly on the transport sector and operations in France, Spain, Portugal and Germany. Zhang Dayong, the man killed in Rome alongside his girlfriend in April, was Zhang Naizhong's deputy. The shootings followed three massive fires set at his warehouses outside Paris and Madrid in previous months. Nannucci believes Naizhong could be in China, after his 2022 acquittal for usury in a huge ongoing Chinese mafia trial plagued by problems – including a lack of translators and missing files. On a recent weekday, a handful of Pakistani men picketed outside the company that had employed them, after it shut down overnight having just agreed to give workers a contract under Italian law. Muhammed Akram, 44, saw his boss quietly emptying the factory of sewing machines, irons and other equipment. "Sneaky boss," he said, in broken Italian. Chinese garment workers, who are in the majority in Prato and often brought to Italy by the mafia, never picket, union activists say – they are too frightened to protest. Changes in apparel manufacturing, globalisation and migration have all contributed to the so-called "Prato system." So has corruption. In May 2024, the second-in-command within Prato's Carabinieri police was accused of giving Italian and Chinese entrepreneurs – among them a chamber of commerce businessman – access to the police database for information, including on workers. Police complaints from attacked workers "ended up in a drawer, never reaching the court", Sudd Cobas organiser Francesca Ciuffi told AFP. Prato's mayor resigned in June in a corruption investigation, accused of trading favours with the businessman for votes. In recent months, the union has secured regular contracts under national law for workers at over 70 companies. That will not help those caught in Prato's mafia war, however, where "bombs have exploded and warehouses have been burned down", said Ciuffi. "People who wake up in the morning, quietly going to work, risk getting seriously injured, if not worse, because of a war that doesn't concern them."
Int'l Business Times
6 days ago
- Int'l Business Times
Italy's Fast Fashion Hub Becomes Chinese Mafia Battlefield
When Zhang Dayong lay in a pool of blood on a sidewalk in Rome after being shot six times, few suspected a link to Italy's storied textile hub of Prato. But a "hanger war" is raging in the city near Florence -- turning Europe's largest apparel manufacturing centre and a pillar of Made in Italy production into a battleground for warring Chinese mafia groups. The situation has become so urgent that Prato's prosecutor, Luca Tescaroli, has appealed to Rome for help, calling for an anti-mafia division and reinforcements for judges and police. Tescaroli has warned that the escalation in crime has become a huge business operation and moved beyond Italy, particularly to France and Spain. The gangs are battling to control the production of hundreds of millions of clothes hangers each year -- the market is estimated to be worth 100 million euros ($115 million) -- and the bigger prize of transporting apparel. The Chinese mafia also "promotes the illegal immigration of workers of various nationalities" for Prato, Tescaroli told AFP. The veteran anti-mafia prosecutor said the "phenomenon has been underestimated", allowing the mafia to expand its reach. With one of Europe's largest Chinese communities, the city of nearly 200,000 people has seen Chinese business owners and factory workers beaten or threatened in recent months, with cars and warehouses burned. The ex-head of Prato's police investigative unit, Francesco Nannucci, said the Chinese mafia run betting dens, prostitution and drugs -- and provide their Italian counterparts with under-the-radar money transfers. For mafia leaders, "to be able to command in Prato means being able to lead in much of Europe," Nannucci told AFP. Chinese groups in the district thrive on the so-called "Prato system", long rife with corruption and irregularities, particularly in the fast-fashion sector, such as labour and safety violations plus tax and customs fraud. Prato's 5,000-odd apparel and knitwear businesses, mostly small, Chinese-run subcontractors, churn out low-priced items that end up in shops across Europe. They pop up quickly and shut down just as fast, playing a cat-and-mouse game with authorities to avoid taxes or fines. Fabric is smuggled from China, evading customs duties and taxes, while profits are returned to China via illegal money transfers. To stay competitive, the sector relies on cheap, around-the-clock labour, mostly from China and Pakistan, which Tescaroli told a Senate committee in January was "essential for its proper functioning". "It's not just one or two bad apples, but a well-oiled system they use, and do very well -- closing, reopening, not paying taxes," said Riccardo Tamborrino, a Sudd Cobas union organiser leading strikes on behalf of immigrants. Investigators say the immigrants work seven days a week, 13 hours a day for about three euros ($3.40) an hour. Tamborrino said Prato's apparel industry was "free from laws, from contracts". "It's no secret," he said. "All this is well known." Trucks lumber day and night through the streets of Prato's industrial zone, an endless sprawl of asphalt lined with warehouses and apparel showrooms with names like "Miss Fashion" and "Ohlala Pronto Moda". Open metal doors reveal loaded garment racks, rolls of fabric and stacks of boxes awaiting shipment -- the final step controlled by Zhang Naizhong, whom prosecutors dub the "boss of bosses" within Italy's Chinese mafia. A 2017 court document described Zhang as the "leading figure in the unscrupulous circles of the Chinese community" in Europe, with a monopoly on the transport sector and operations in France, Spain, Portugal and Germany. Zhang Dayong, the man killed in Rome alongside his girlfriend in April, was Zhang Naizhong's deputy. The shootings followed three massive fires set at his warehouses outside Paris and Madrid in previous months. Nannucci believes Naizhong could be in China, after his 2022 acquittal for usury in a huge ongoing Chinese mafia trial plagued by problems -- including a lack of translators and missing files. On a recent weekday, a handful of Pakistani men picketed outside the company that had employed them, after it shut down overnight having just agreed to give workers a contract under Italian law. Muhammed Akram, 44, saw his boss quietly emptying the factory of sewing machines, irons and other equipment. "Sneaky boss," he said, in broken Italian. Chinese garment workers, who are in the majority in Prato and often brought to Italy by the mafia, never picket, union activists say -- they are too frightened to protest. Changes in apparel manufacturing, globalisation and migration have all contributed to the so-called "Prato system". So has corruption. In May 2024, the second-in-command within Prato's Carabinieri police was accused of giving Italian and Chinese entrepreneurs -- among them a chamber of commerce businessman -- access to the police database for information, including on workers. Police complaints from attacked workers "ended up in a drawer, never reaching the court", Sudd Cobas organiser Francesca Ciuffi told AFP. Prato's mayor resigned in June in a corruption investigation, accused of trading favours with the businessman for votes. In recent months, the union has secured regular contracts under national law for workers at over 70 companies. That will not help those caught in Prato's mafia war, however, where "bombs have exploded and warehouses have been burned down", said Ciuffi. "People who wake up in the morning, quietly going to work, risk getting seriously injured, if not worse, because of a war that doesn't concern them." The textile hub of Prato is home to about 5,000 mostly Chinese-run apparel and knitwear businesses AFP With a population of nearly 200,000 people, Prato has one of Europe's largest Chinese communities AFP Immigrants often work seven days a week, 13 hours a day AFP Prato's industrial zone is an endless sprawl of asphalt lined with apparel warehouses and showrooms AFP Companies sometimes shut overnight to avoid sanctions, only to reopen under a new name AFP Globalisation, migration and corruption have played roles in the exploitative "Prato system" AFP Workers are sometimes caught in the crossfire of Prato's mafia war AFP
