In Italy and Germany, among other things, 79 houses and 85 cars have been seized from five men from the oil industry who are linked to the Italian mafia. In total, more than 140 million euros in assets have been seized.
The five men are said to be members of or linked to ‘Ndrangheta. This is one of the largest and most powerful mafia organizations in the world, which originated in Calabria, southern Italy. According to police from that region, the men are guilty of laundering money earned from “criminal activities.”
They allegedly did this from their work in the oil industry. There they managed the entire distribution chain, “from the warehouse to the gas stations.” They are also said to have been guilty of tax evasion.
A court in Calabria has now seized 79 houses and 85 cars in Italy. The men must also relinquish 28 trading companies in petroleum products (three of which are in Germany), a farm, a real estate company and four luxury watches. In addition, the police found one million euros in cash. The total estimated value is over 140 million euros.
According to an annual report by the Italian anti-mafia agency, mafia organizations such as ‘Ndrangheta have in recent years been less involved in internal violence and more involved in drug trafficking, prostitution and money laundering.