REGGIO CALABRIA. THE GUARDIA DI FINANZA AND THE DIA CONFISCATED THE HUGE ASSETS OF A PERSON ACTING AS THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ARM OF THE ‘NDRANGHETA

The officers of the Provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza in Reggio Calabria and of the S.C.I.C.O. (Central Service for Investigations on the Organized Crime), the personnel of the Direzione Investigativa Antimafia, coordinated by the National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office, headed by the Prosecutor Giovanni Melillo, and the Prosecutor’s Office having the jurisdiction – Anti-Mafia District Directorate, headed by the Prosecutor Dott. Giovanni Bombardieri, are executing an order, issued by the Section Preventive Measures at the Court in Reggio Calabria, requesting the application of an asset-related preventive measure – confiscation – with an overall estimated value of over 18 million euros. The assets are linked to an entrepreneur of Reggio Calabria, who is suspected of being “the ‘‘Ndrangheta arm” in the distributive trade sector.

The entrepreneur already emerged from an investigation called “MARTINGALA”, carried out by the DIA and by the Economic and Financial Unit in Reggio Calabria and coordinated by the local Anti-Mafia District Directorate. The investigation ended in February 2018. At present and unless otherwise established with respect to criminal responsibility – he was committed for trial for different offences, including mafia-type association, fraudulent transfer of values, extortion, bankruptcy, usury and reinvestment of illicitly gained money in business and financial activities, in some cases with the aggravating circumstance of having facilitated the interests of the ‘Ndrangheta.

According to the investigations – at present and unless otherwise established with respect to criminal responsibility – the entrepreneur was at the service of the ‘Ndrangheta and was a constant point of reference for the economic and financial interest of the organization, providing his services

The affected party allegedly managed several companies in the distributive trade sector, trading different kind of good. The companies were registered for complaisant trustees and collected the huge illicitly gained financial assets flew.

Moreover, in July 2022 the entrepreneur was subject to a pre-trial arrest order within operation “Planning” being suspected of fictitious registration of assets and reinvestment of illicitly gained assets. The operation stemmed from the investigations carried out by the DIA and by the Economic and Financial Unit in Reggio Calabria and coordinated by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Reggio Calabria.

Based on the results achieved, the National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Directorate and the local Anti-Mafia District Directorate – being increasingly interested in the economic and business activities linked to  the organized crime – delegated the Investigation Group on Organized Crime (G.I.C.O.) of the Guardia di Finanza in Reggio Calabria, the S.C.I.C.O. and the local DIA Field Office  to carry out an ad-hoc economic/asset-related investigation in order to apply a personal and asset-related preventive measure against the above-mentioned entrepreneur.

After having outlined the social dangerousness of the affected party, the investigation was focused on reconstructing the assets acquired – directly or indirectly- in the last thirty years, by thoroughly analyzing all the documents in order to identify all the properties he anyway possessed, whose value was disproportionate if compared to the income declared or were mostly the outcome or the reinvestment of illicit activities.

Based on the results of the investigations, the Section Preventive Measures at the Court in Reggio Calabria, recognizing the validity of the evidence, ordered – at present and unless otherwise established – to apply the preventive measure, confiscating the whole corporate assets of 5 companies operating in household appliances and real estate, 7 properties, 2 cars, 28 precious luxury watches with an overall estimated value of over 18 million euros

The local court also ordered to put the entrepreneur under the personal preventive measure of special surveillance for public security purposes for 3 years with the obligation to stay in the area of residence or in his habitual abode.

The above-mentioned activity is the outcome of the synergetic cooperation between law enforcement agencies, effectively coordinated by National the Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office and by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Reggio Calabria. It testifies that great attention is paid to detecting and attacking the assets and financial resources, which are illicitly gained by mafia-type crime groups, so to make markets competitive again, to encourage the investments and the related entrepreneurial and economic development, wresting them from the control and influence of organized crime groups.