10/10/2024 – 21:15
With the support of information shared by the Brazilian Federal Public Ministry, via international cooperation, Italy this week arrested four suspects linked to Cosa Nostra, a mafia group from that European country that operated in Brazil.
The arrests were ordered by the Court, at the request of the Italian Public Prosecutor’s Office, for the crimes of extortion, money laundering and fraudulent transfer of values. It was also determined that more than 350 thousand euros – the equivalent of R$ 2.1 million – and assets of nine companies operating in the real estate and restaurant sectors, located in Italy, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Brazil, will be blocked. .
The arrests are an offshoot of the Operation Arancia investigations, launched on August 13, in Natal, when the task force of Brazilian and Italian authorities targeted the branch of Cosa Nostra in Brazil.
Cosa Nostra is considered one of the most powerful mafia organizations in Italy, which also operates in Brazilian territory, mainly in Rio Grande do Norte and Paraíba.
Operation Arancia arrested Italian businessman Giuseppe Bruno, considered one of the leaders of the organization, in Brazil.
According to information released by the Prosecutor’s Office this Thursday, the 10th, the evidence collected so far indicates that the Italian mafia used shell and shell companies to facilitate the movement and concealment of illicit funds, originating from international criminal activities.
Investigators estimate that the group’s branch in Brazil has laundered approximately R$300 million in illicit capital since 2009. The money was used to buy properties and infiltrate the Brazilian real estate and financial market.
A statement released by the Palermo Provincial Command indicates that the evidence gathered so far points to the joint criminal activity of Giuseppe Calvaruso and Giuseppe Bruno in the scheme. Italian authorities estimate that the total value of invested assets could exceed 500 million euros, in current values, which is equivalent to more than R$3 billion.
“The money was transferred from Italy to Brazil through complex money laundering mechanisms, passing, in many cases, through current accounts located abroad,” states the statement.
This week’s action is the result of the work carried out by a Joint Investigation Team (ECI), formed by members of the MPF and members of the Brazilian Federal Police, the Palermo Prosecutor’s Office (in Italy) and the Italian Police, with the support of the Federal Police Agency. European Union for Criminal Judicial Cooperation, Eurojust.
The agreement to create the team was signed by the MPF’s Secretariat for International Cooperation (SCI), and processed by the Ministry of Justice, following the rules of the Palermo Convention, the main global instrument to combat transnational organized crime. In Brazil, investigations are conducted by the Federal Public Ministry unit in Rio Grande do Norte.
Complaint
On September 17th, the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Natal charged three Italians and six Brazilians with involvement in an international criminal organization and money laundering for the Italian mafia.
In addition to sentencing those involved, the MPF asked the Brazilian courts to maintain the preventive detention of the mafia leaders. Two of them are already in prison for other crimes: Giuseppe Calvaruso, in custody in Italy, and Pietro Lagodana, who is serving a sentence at the Alcaçuz State Prison, in Rio Grande do Norte.
The third Italian named as leader is Giuseppe Bruno, who also remains imprisoned in Brazil. In addition to these three heads of the Cosa Nostra branch in Brazil, six Brazilians accused of being part of the organization at different periods were indicted, including companions of the Italians.
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