DIA OPERATION AGAINST THE ‘NDRANGHETA IN THE BRESCIA AREA, COMPANIES OPERATING IN THE TOURISM AND CATERING SECTOR PLACED UNDER JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION

In the framework of the independent monitoring activity conducted on the criminal presence rooted in the Brescia area as well as of the careful analysis of the corporate-financial trends that can be traced back to the criminal presence itself, the DIA’s Field Office in  Brescia developed findings that had already emerged in connection with the investigation “Operation Glicine-Acheronte”, coordinated by the D.D.A. at the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Catanzaro. The DIA’s Field Office proposed and obtained from the Court of Brescia the enforcement of the preventive non-seizure based measure of judicial administration provided for by art.34 of the Antimafia Code, against 8 companies located in the provinces of Brescia and Mantua and operating in various sectors such as agriculture, horse-racing, mining, but – above all – tourism and catering.

The entire corporate assets, with a total turnover of more than 15 million euros, are owned by an entrepreneur from Verona, who is under house arrest in the province of Mantua, where he has been residing since June 2023 and operating mainly through a well-known resort complex located in a well-known tourist area.

The in-depth investigation conducted by the DIA, by analysing the flows of STRs connected to money laundering, managed by the Banca d’Italia’s Financial Intelligence Unit, confirmed the existence of deep-rooted relationships and financial interests (including foreign ones) with members of a ‘ndrangheta family who, in  different circumstances, had shown a tendency to invest in the territories bordering the Lake Garda.

These type of contacts – which are not occasional – have had a profitable operational and financial impact on the management of a large part of the complex corporate sector belonging to the entrepreneur.

As a result of the aforementioned preventive measure, the administration of the companies was entrusted for a minimum duration of one year to a board composed of 3 directors who are gradually taking over the executive activities.

The enforcement of Article 34 CAM, as envisaged by law, leads to the immediate invalidity of all bans by the Prefect or by the municipality that, over time, had been imposed on the companies themselves.

Brescia, August 28, 2024