Italian police announced on Wednesday that they had dismantled a mafia network in Sicily that embezzled millions of euros of European funds intended for farmers. Ninety-four people were arrested during a phone call earlier today against a mafia group in Tortorici, the Messina prosecution said in a statement.
Among those arrested are two heads of mafia families, a notary, entrepreneurs and public officials responsible for accessing these funds. Since 2013, the "Tortorici mafia" which takes its name from that of a town located in the Nebrodia mountains in the northeast of the island, has embezzled almost 10 million euros in European funds, reported public television Rai24.
Complicity in administration
To obtain this European funding, the clan fraudulently claimed ownership of land actually belonging to the region and local councils. The operation relied on the complicity of employees of a public agency responsible for agricultural subsidies, which distributes European funds to farmers, as well as centers responsible for assisting farmers in their requests for aid.
In his indictment, judge Sergio Matroeni considers that the scam rested on "the unconditional support" of employees having "the know-how necessary to send the Mafia to the nerve center of the public funding system" and to exploit the loopholes of lax control. Among those arrested, 48 were imprisoned and the rest placed under house arrest, police said.
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- EU
- Agriculture
- Italy
- Mafia
- Misappropriation of public funds
- World