How Italian mafia bosses are cashing in on the pandemic

The financial problems caused by coronavirus have opened valuable markets for Italy’s crime families to exploit, reports Stefano Fasano

People visit Rome’s Colosseum after its reopening earlier this month (AFP/Getty)

When the pandemic began to ravage Italy last year, something sinister started happening to those businesses facing an unprecedented crisis due to lockdown.

Many started to receive unusual buyout offers, often much lower than their “normal” market price – but, on the plus side, cash-in-hand and with immediate payment. Others saw proposals coming in from “uninterested” investors, coming to their rescue, promising to inject money into their gaping finances.

Nothing specific or unreasonable was asked of the owners in the beginning. Only weeks or months later, this new “partner” would ask to have their money back but, if that was not possible, the investor would expect a larger share of the enterprise, even take it over.