THE DIREZIONE INVESTIGATIVA ANTIMAFIA CARRIED OUT AN ORDER OF SEIZURE AGAINST A NEAPOLITAN ENTREPRENEUR. THE OVERALL ESTIMATED VALUE OF THE ASSETS AND FINANCIAL RESOURCES SEIZED WAS ABOUT 55 MILLION EUROS

The Direzione Investigativa Antimafia carried out an order of asset seizure, issued by the court of Santa Maria Capua Vetere (CE) – Section Preventive Measures – against a Neapolitan entrepreneur operating in the waste and environmental remediation sectors, allegedly close to the Casalesi clan. The order of seizure came from a proposal for asset-related and personal preventive measures, made jointly by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the court in Naples and the DIA Director.

The order of seizure involved financial resources and four companies – including one company, which was of primarily importance in the environmental protection sector– operating in the fields of: sewage treatment plants, real estate, water consumption data processing and construction of public works for fluid transportation, respectively. The overall estimated value was about 55 million euros.

The above-mentioned entrepreneur had already been brought to trial for having aided and abetted the illicit awarding of the subcontract for the creation and management of the landfill site in Chiaiano (NA) to companies linked to an entrepreneur of the above-mentioned Casalesi clan. For such crimes he had been charged with: participation in a crime group with the purpose to commit frauds in public supplies and scams against public bodies, false declarations in public documents and certificates and violation of the environmental rules (including illicit waste trafficking) as well as the disposal of dangerous waste with the purpose to construct the landfill site, with the aggravating circumstance of having aided the Casalesi clan, Zagaria’s group. The entrepreneur is the suspect of a criminal proceeding underway and hence he must be considered innocent until final conviction.

The court of Santa Maria Capua Vetere already requested additional preventive measures against other entrepreneurs, who are closely linked to the above-mentioned clan, resulting in analogous orders of seizure. Indeed, last year the Section Preventive Measures of the court, always upon the proposal of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Naples and DIA Director, issued a similar order of seizure against another group of companies involved in the management of the landfill site and its relevant contracts.

The judicial proceeding requesting the proposal for preventive measures is closely associated with the management of family companies by the Neapolitan entrepreneur. Because of his criminal records, the entrepreneur did not hold any positions within the companies but he de facto has never ceased to manage them by assigning the formal positions to his daughters so to meet the “moral requirements” needed to make contracts with the public administration.

Based on the investigative information collected over the years and the evidence gathered during the hearing stage, the Section Preventive Measures, which issued today’s order of seizure, thoroughly analyzed and reconstructed the different entrepreneurial and criminal activities.

The important role played by the company in this specific sector and the working places will be guaranteed through the judicial administrator appointed by the Court in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, which attaches the highest importance to the defense of the positive values of the company. To this end, the court set up a working group which outlined the guidelines for the management of the assets seized and confiscated so to regulate the preventive procedure involving the seizure.    

Today’s result is part of the institutional activities carried out by the Direzione Investigativa Antimafia in order to attack the assets which are illicitly gained and directly or indirectly linked to mafia-style criminal contexts, so to protect healthy economy.

The order carried out was issued within a procedure for the application of preventive measures. It is a temporary measure pending the final decision on the assets seized. The persons affected have the opportunity to make their observations and, if it is case, challenge the measure in compliance with the law.   

Naples, 23 January 2024