A Camorra-Ndangheta pact, overseen by professional experts, allowed the collection of approximately €72 million in COVID funds and the implementation of money laundering and tax evasion operations through shell companies. This is what was discovered in the "Minefield" investigation conducted by the Reggio Emilia Prosecutor's Office, which led to the investigation of 108 individuals involved in tax crimes and money laundering.
The criminal activity, aimed at committing tax crimes, culminated in the execution of 15 precautionary measures, including the arrest of 5 people, house arrest for 7, a mandatory residence for one, and other interdictory measures for 3.
During the operation, 18 kg of hashish and 4 kg of marijuana were seized, along with valuables, watches, and cash with a turnover of over €30 million. The organization was laundering money using a system of false invoices and tax fraud to launder the illicitly obtained funds and reintroduce them into the legal economy.
The proceeds were invested in diamonds, precious watches, and luxury cars purchased in Austria and rented in the Reggio Emilia area through companies linked to the organization. Furthermore, €10,5 million was seized at the request of the Reggio Emilia Prosecutor's Office, which coordinated the investigation.
Furthermore, investigations into Operation Minefield revealed an international money laundering scheme used by the organization, involving money transfers through Bulgaria and then re-routing them to Italy. During the operation, one arrest was made for drug possession, resulting in the seizure of 18 kg of hashish and 4 kg of marijuana.
Beginning at dawn this morning, approximately 350 military personnel, including Finance Police officers from the Reggio Emilia Provincial Command, other units, and members of the Central Investigative Service on Organized Crime (SCICO), along with Carabinieri officers from the local Provincial Command, launched a large-scale judicial police operation across several Italian regions. This operation was coordinated by the Emilia-Romagna Public Prosecutor's Office under the leadership of Prosecutor Calogero Gaetano Paci.
The organization's criminal activities emerged from complex investigations conducted by the Guardia di Finanza and the Carabinieri of Reggio Emilia. These investigations revealed infiltration operations in the regional economy and large-scale criminal management, with repercussions throughout the country.
The syndicate, composed primarily of individuals from Calabria, Campania, and natives of Reggio Emilia and the Province of Foggia, focused primarily on committing tax crimes through the issuance of invoices for non-existent transactions. The organization also operated a vast business in sectors such as shipbuilding, industrial machinery maintenance, cleaning, car rental, and wholesale trade.
The modus operandi involved creating shell companies or acquiring existing ones to issue fake invoices in the name of front men, whose money was then laundered through compliant users of non-existent invoices. These users would make transfers equal to the amount of the invoices received to the current accounts of the gang's companies, then return the money to the organization's members, retaining a percentage as "compensation."
In addition to tax crimes, the gang committed extortion, money laundering, fraudulent bankruptcy, misappropriation of public funds, and embezzlement. Investigations also revealed a scheme to defraud state welfare, with illicit claims for unemployment benefits and improper requests for public contributions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The organization also used international money laundering schemes to launder illicitly obtained funds, including purchasing diamonds, precious metals, and luxury cars abroad and renting them in Italy.
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