Italian Mafia business flourishes in crisis

Dubai: The Italian Mafia is expected to generate 200 billion euros (Dh1.04 trillion) in revenue this year after 170 billion euros in 2008. This amount was estimated by Italy's anti-Mafia prosecutor Piero Grasso in a recent report to the Italian parliament published in newspapers in Italy last week. According to Grasso, it seems that the Mafia's business model is "one of the few that are working very well in a financial crisis." A big part of the income originates from the international arms and drug trade, which shows no signs of slackening, Grasso said. Rising unemployment and financial worries seem to prompt people to use more drugs than before, the figures show, providing a stable income for those who deliver the drugs. Pushed by the crisis, another very lucrative field became important: With many banks in difficulty and... [read full story]                    

powered by