I have had the opportunity to go through the anti-mafia report presented to the Italian parliament by the Italian anti-mafia authorities for the first half of 2021 and from there I picked up the Maltese connections.
It seems it is only through the Italian authorities that we get to know of some of the dirty mafia dealings in our country. On the Malta Police front, the silence is quite often deafening on these issues. It seems that the Malta Police only act when the Italians discover something.
The following is the select list of the identified Malta-connected Mafia/’Ndrangheta/ Camorra operations in our ‘din l-art ħelwa’ for the first half of 2021, according to the Italian anti-mafia police:
January 8, 2021 – the Procura della Repubblica di Milano issued a freezing order on a number of business operators who had concocted a complicated fraud mechanism whereby they could defraud the Italian state through offshore companies in the UK and the use of bank accounts in Switzerland and Malta.
February 2, 2021 –Operation ‘Buonaventura’ concerning the Napoli clan Genovese and the Catania Cappello-Bonaccorsi mafia clan. Cocaine and hash were imported from Spain via Sicily and Malta and then transported to Germany. The Cappello-Bonaccorsi clan would take care of operations in Sicily and forward a part of the merchandise to an associate based in Malta, who would then take care of distributing the drugs on the Maltese market.
March 2, 2021 – Operation ‘Algeri’ concerning a criminal clan from the province of Siracusa involved in the trafficking of cocaine, crack, hashish, marijuana and amphetamines. The head of this organisation had escaped to Malta and had been living in Malta before being arrested.
March 3, 2021 – Operation ‘Doppio Gioco’ concerning the Sicilian Catania mafia family Santapaola-Ercolano, linked to gambling online. Twenty-three arrest warrants were issued, involving also a Maltese company, for illegal gambling, tax evasion, fraud, money laundering, all to benefit the said mafia family.
March 27, 2021 – Operation ‘Gambling’ – the Italian Corte di Cassazione (highest court of appeal) condemns in final judgment the ’Ndrangheta clan Tegano that had infiltrated the gambling milieu in Malta.
March 30, 2021 – Operation ‘Provinciale’, concerning a criminal mafia group in Messina operating in the gambling sector, with strong connections to Maltese directors of very well-known brands in the Maltese betting world.
May 8, 2021 – Operation ‘Gasolio e Nero’, concerning 10 people in San Donà del Piave, in northern Italy, involved in fiscal fraud, with regard to fuel deals. Among other illegalities, this group of people had issued false invoices through an Albanian company as well as through two other shell companies based in Naples and also through another third company with a fictitious seat in Rome. This fictitious company was controlled by a shell company in Naples that had a fictitious office in Malta.
It seems the Malta Police only act when the Italians discover something- Arnold Cassola
May 27, 2021 – Operation ‘Apate’ concerning the Sicilian Catania mafia family Santapaolo-Cappello, linked to gambling online, fraud at the expense of the Italian state, false ownership of immobile property and utilising gambling agencies abroad, including Malta.
May 27, 2021 – Operation ‘Apate’ concerning the Sicilian Messina mafia clan Lo Duca, linked to drug trafficking, extortion, security companies in night clubs and illegal online gambling. Directors of well-known brands of gambling in Malta are connected to the Lo Duca mafia family.
June 11, 2021 – Unnamed operation concerning the confiscation of over €18 million belonging to four companies operating in the field of commerce and distribution of fuels in the provinces of Naples, Salerno and Reggio Calabria. The fraud consisted of importing the fuels from Spain through a Maltese company based in Naples and Catania and not paying the fees due to Customs.
June 16, 2021 – Operation ‘Galassia’, concerning the ’Ndrangheta clan Piromalli, involved in gambling, who utilised contacts in Malta for their money laundering.
On the European front, the Italian anti-mafia team participates in many Europol projects. They also participate in the high-risks programme, which is devoted to the fight against high-risk criminality. Unfortunately, Malta is considered a high-risk country, also because of the aforementioned cases.
Apart from our country’s involvement with the Italian mafias, Eastern European mafia organisations launder their dirty money through offshore companies based in the Baltic states, Cyprus, Malta and the Russian Federation.
Having said all this, I ask Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà just one thing: Could you please concentrate on a few issues, such as identifying the Cappello-Bonaccorsi clan associate based in Malta, who took care of distributing drugs on the Maltese market, or the shell company in Naples that was involved in the Operation ‘Gasolio e Nero’ and had a fictitious office in Malta?
And, most important of all, can you please tell us who are the Maltese directors of the well-known gambling brands in Malta connected to the Lo Duca mafia family?
Commissioner Gafà, am I asking too much?
Arnold Cassola is an independent candidate and former secretary general of the European Green Party.