Usury: assets worth 50 million euros confiscated

NAPLES – The confiscation of assets worth over 50 million euros, seized in the past by the Guardia di Finanza of Naples on the orders of the Court – Preventive Measures Section, has become definitive

The measure affects a person considered socially dangerous and his heirs, thus consolidating the State's action against assets of illicit origin.

The operation originates from investigations conducted between 2011 and 2012 by the financial police of the Casalnuovo di Napoli Company, which had brought to light the activities of a man resident in Mariglianella, who died in 2014. The individual, with a criminal record for usury, had a large amount of assets far greater than his declared income, believed to be the result of illicit activities.

The investigations revealed a consolidated system of usury: through a sole proprietorship operating in the vehicle sales and repair sector, the man sold vehicles under onerous financial conditions, guaranteed by bills of exchange or mortgages on the purchased goods.

In case of non-payment, he renegotiated the debts by applying usurious rates. The illicit profits were then reinvested in the purchase of real estate, land, hotel companies and luxury cars, often registered in the name of front men.

The assets had already been seized in two phases, and now, after a long legal process, the Court of Naples has decreed its definitive confiscation. The State thus acquires over 140 properties including buildings and land located in the provinces of Latina, Caserta and Naples, company shares in a hotel structure, three vehicles - including a rare Jaguar XJ 220 - and financial resources for over 6 million euros.

The National Agency for the Administration and Destination of Assets Seized and Confiscated from Organized Crime (ANBSC) will now manage the assets, returning them to the community and to legality.