Italian businessman arrested in Brazil in mafia investigation
Southern Sicily: Money from Brazil allegedly flowed through a network in Switzerland, Hong Kong and Singapore, into the pockets of families affiliated with Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian mafia.
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Listening: Italian businessman arrested in Brazil in mafia investigation
An Italian businessman has been arrested in the Brazilian city of Natal as part of an international investigation into a mafia network worth an estimated €500 million (CHF475 million), Italy’s financial police said on Tuesday.
The investigations started in 2022 and involved Italian, Brazilian and Swiss police agencies.
The man faces charges including extortion, money laundering and external complicity in mafia association, the police said in a statement.
Brazilian police said the mafia scheme has invested around €55 million in Brazil in real estate properties and on the financial market. According to Italian authorities the total value of invested assets could exceed €500 million.
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Mafia numbers in Switzerland higher than previously thought
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Significantly more members of the Italian Mafia live in Switzerland than previously assumed, according to the Federal Office of Police.
The investigations revealed “traces of substantial investments of mafia-related capital in business ventures and companies”, the statement said.
They led to the seizure of assets worth €50 million and charges against 17 people and 12 real estate, construction and restoration businesses in the three countries.
Money from Brazil allegedly flowed, since 2016, through a network in Switzerland, Hong Kong and Singapore, into the pockets of important mafia families affiliated with Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian mafia, according to the police.
A Brazilian police statement said the mafia laundering network busted in Natal had been operating for almost decade using shell companies to hide funds coming from international criminal activities.
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