‘Ndragheta Racketeering Profits

Security services in Italy estimate that the organized crime group  ‘Ndragheta brings in up to $65 Billion (£40 Billion) a year in black market revenue.

One of the main revenue sources is in cocaine trafficking, where ‘Ndragheta controls up to 80 percent of the cocaine imported into Europe.

Another key areas of money is from “pizzo”, or the Mob Tax. Between 2008 and 2013, the European Union have granted $4.1 Billion (£2.5 Billion) in public works projects such as new roads to areas controlled by the “Ndraheta. Portions of these government money ends up being paid by construction firms to the syndicate.

Out of the total revenue that is collected, a third of the money is reinvested back into its criminal operations. The remaining money is either laundered into legitimate businesses, or is used to pay bribes to police officers and politicians.

(What is racketeering? See more examples here.)

Source:  Nigel Blundell, “The new godfathers: Deadlier and MORE secretive than the Sicilian mafia,” Mirror Online, December 8, 2013.