The Financiers of the Provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza of Reggio Calabria and of the SCICO, of Rome, with the coordination of the local Public Prosecutor's Office - District Anti-Mafia Directorate, directed by Dr. Giovanni Bombardieri, are carrying out - in Calabria, Puglia and Abruzzo - to a provision issued by the Prevention Measures Section of the Court of Reggio Calabria which provides for the application of the patrimonial measure of confiscation of corporate assets, trusts and financial assets - for a total value estimated at approximately 400 million euros - attributable to an operating entrepreneur in the online gaming and betting sector.
The criminal figure of the entrepreneur had emerged in the "Galaxy" operation, conducted by the Economic-Financial Police Unit of Reggio Calabria and the SCICO of Rome to combat the infiltration of the 'ndrangheta in the online gaming and betting sector, which would have made it possible to discover the existence of a sophisticated and highly profitable criminal system, aimed at the illicit collection of online bets, having a decision-making and operational base in Reggio Calabria and also ramifications abroad through companies with offices in Malta, in Romania, Austria and Spain.
These companies would have acted through a "cascade" earning system, from the master, the top of the pyramid and promoter of the organization, to the end user, the final player. The association in question would have had connections with the 'ndrangheta, to which it would have guaranteed a part of the proceeds in exchange for protection and diffusion of the brand online and in local commercial establishments. The bookmakers, in fact, would have entered into agreements with the hegemonic gangs in their respective territories of reference, in order to consolidate their economic position in the Calabrian territory, in particular in the province of Reggio Calabria. Finally, the affiliated points would have transferred the sums collected to the administrative management of the association located abroad, exempting it from Italian taxation.
In this context - at the state of the proceedings and without prejudice to subsequent assessments regarding the effective and definitive assessment of responsibilities - the figure of the entrepreneur emerged, real dominus of a company with registered office in Malta, but de facto operating in Italy through a stable organisation, made up of multiple commercial points, distributed throughout the territory and dedicated to the collection of bets on games and bets within the described illicit system.
In light of the aforementioned evidence, the local District Anti-Mafia Directorate - increasingly interested in the economic-entrepreneurial aspects linked to organized crime - has delegated the GICO of the Economic and Financial Police Unit of Reggio Calabria to carry out a specific economic/patrimonial investigation aimed at the application , towards the aforementioned entrepreneur, of personal and financial prevention measures.
The activity in review, also valorising the results of previous investigations, made it possible to detect, through a complex and detailed verification activity, the assets directly and indirectly in the availability of the proposed person, the value of which would have been disproportionate compared to the officially declared income capacity .
In light of the participatory findings, the Prevention Measures Section of the Court of Reggio Calabria first ordered the seizure of the assets attributable to the aforementioned entrepreneur and, subsequently, recognizing the validity of the circumstantial system, with the provision in execution it decreed - at present proceeding and without prejudice to any subsequent assessment on the merits - the application of the asset prevention measure of confiscation of the entire business complex of 3 companies operating in the online gaming and betting sector, no. 2 trusts rooted in Malta including their respective financial portfolios, as well as banking, financial and insurance relationships and related assets, for a total value estimated at approximately 400 million euros.
Furthermore, with the same provision, the local Court subjected the entrepreneur to the personal measure of Special Public Security Surveillance for a period of 2 years and 6 months, with the obligation to stay in the municipality of residence or habitual residence.
The service activity in review demonstrates, once again, the high attention of the Financial Police and the Public Prosecutor's Office - District Anti-Mafia Directorate of Reggio Calabria, which continues to be directed towards the identification and consequent attack on assets and financial resources illicitly accumulated by criminal gangs, with the aim of stemming the pollution of the market and of healthy entrepreneurship, with the aim of restoring adequate levels of legality, transparency and public safety.
