The Italian mafia wanted to cash in on the country’s problems in connection with the coronavirus pandemic and appropriate part of the payments from the large-scale fund to save the European economy, writes Bloomberg.
Representatives of the largest groups, including Ndrageta from the Calabria region and the famous Sicilian Cosa Nostra, began to infiltrate enterprises from various sectors in the hope of receiving financial assistance from the European Union.
According to investigators and police officers, criminals carefully select the “victim” companies. Most of them belong to the IT industry or are related to environmental projects. They were previously selected by the EU leadership as priority recipients of subsidies.
This is an unprecedented European economic recovery fund in terms of its size and function. It is included in the current seven-year EU budget and is calculated at 1.8 trillion euros. It is assumed that it will be financed by bonds issued on behalf of the European Commission and distributed in the form of concessional loans and grants. In the future, the debt will be repaid with the help of new taxes introduced at the EU level.
Italy, as one of the hardest hit countries, is expected to account for 209 billion euros. How exactly the mafiosi are going to withdraw the funds received from the companies is not specified. Investigators note that criminals usually try to provide financing in the form of loans to companies in need or to impose their partnerships on them.