An article in the New York Times highlighted the concept of the “3 percent rule” in Italy. The process occurs when subcontractors overcharge the state by 3 percent, which is then passed on to organized crime groups.
In a trial to convict 22 Mafia members, prosecutors found various incidents of the “3 percent rule” where subcontractors working on a state highway used the process to enrich organized crime.
Source: Rachel Donadio, “Corruption Is Seen as a Drain on Italy’s South,” New York Times, October 7, 2012.
Law enforcement officials in Germany that between 2007 and 2012, there have been 25 prosecution cases against the Italian Mafia in the court system of Germany.
In the German state of Bavaria, police estimate that there are 65 active Mafia members working in the state.
Source: “Germany ‘hotbed’ of Italian organized crime: Experts,” PressTV, August 11, 2012.
A study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, cocaine use in cities in Switzerland is among the highest in Europe.
Everyday, up to 1.5 grams of cocaine is consumed by every 1,000 citizens in the Swiss cities of Bern, Geneva, Lucerne and Zurich.
In other European cities such as Barcelona, London, Milan and Paris, between 0.5 to 1 grams of cocaine is used by every 1,000.
Norther European cities had the lowest reported levels of cocaine use, with Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki registering 0.15 grams of cocaine use daily per 1,000 residents.
Across Europe, up to 356 kilograms of cocaine is consumed each day, which is 10 to 15 percent of the total global cocaine consumption.
Source: AFP, “Cocaine use in Swiss cities among highest in Europe: report,” Google News, August 6, 2012.
Mafia organizations in Italy earned over $19.6 Billion (16 Billion Euros) in profit from various environmental crimes within the country, according to a report by Legambiente.
Authorities in Italy detected over 34,000 incidents of environmental crimes during 2011, a rate of over 90 per day. Mafia organizations are believed to have been responsible for illegally dumping 346,000 tons of trash during the year.
Organized crime groups in Italy generate up to $204 Billion from their black market activities.
Source: Nick Squires, “Mafia making billions from environmental destruction ,” Telegraph, July 9, 2012.
The United Nations estimates that between 8,000 to 10,000 women from Nigeria are trafficked into the prostitution industry in Italy every year.
The Nigerian women are forced to have sex with customers at prices at low as $13 per transaction. In order to quit being a prostitute, women are forced to repay their pimps between $40,000 to $78,000.
(More human trafficking prices of victims.)
Source: Jill Craig, “Nigerians Become Most Trafficked Into Italy’s Sex Trade,” Voice of America, May 4, 2012.
The European Central Bank reports that over half of all counterfeit euro notes that are in circulation was made in the Campania region in Italy.
On average, a total of 550,000 to 800,000 counterfeit euro notes are detected and removed from circulation each year.Most of the fake money are in 20 and 50 euro notes.
Source: Rachel Donadio, “In Italy, Fake Euros That Even the Authorities Admire,” New York Times, April 30, 2012.
Tax officials in Italy recovered $16.9 Billion (12.7 Billion Euros) from tax evasion activities in 2011. The amount recovered in 20111 was higher by 15 percent from the amount of taxes evaded in 2010.
The Government of Italy losses an estimated $160 Billion (120 Billion Euros) to tax evasion each year.
Source: Catherine Hornby, “Italy recovers 12.7 billion euros from tax evaders in 2011,” Reuters, March 29, 2012.
Due to the role of organized crime in food production in Italy, a report has found that 80 percent of the olive oil produced in Italy and stamped with a “Made in Italy” logo was made with cheaper, lower quality oils from other countries.
(More Mafia News.)
Source: Leslie Clarula Taylor, “Italian olive oil part of organized crime probe,” The Star, January 27, 2012.
Financial enforcement officers in Italy estimate that up to $78 Billion (60 Billion Euros) was evaded in tax payments.
Source: Armorel Kenna, “Italy Estimates EU60 Billion in Tax Evaded Last Year, Sole Says,” Bloomberg, January 22, 2012.
A parliamentary investigation reported that organized crime controls $16 Billion (12.5 Billion Euros) worth of agriculture and food industries in Italy. The amount of revenue generated from the food businesses consists of up to 5.6 percent of all Mafia income generating activities.
Source: Reuters, “Organized crime controls Italy’s food industry,” Financial Post, January 19, 2012.
