“Mafias are looking for money from the Recovery Fund, we have to watch out for incoming funds”: Europol alarm on the risk of clan infiltration

You will need to track the money Recovery Fund because the mafias have already been directed to the economic resources deployed to face the pandemic of coronavirus and the billions for him reconstruction will unleash even more clan appetites. The CEO of Europol, Catherine De Bolle, raises the alarm about criminal infiltration given the provision of EU resources to support the recovery of the economy, weakened by the months of emergency shutdown and restrictions to contain the spread of coronavirus. For the director of Criminapol, Vittorio Rizzi, the main risk is linked to the discovery “too late” infiltrations, when “the damage to the real economy becomes irreparable”.

“The funds for reconstruction are already being Criminal organizations and they will be even more so. On financing for recovery we will have to be beware and monitor to avoid risk of infiltration of the mafias, ”he explained. “It is important that it exists at the highest level of the European Union awareness of risks to the management of subsidies related to the crisis during the pandemic, ”continued De Bolle in his keynote address at the second meeting of the workgroup on criminal threats related toCovid-19 emergency ongoing in Rome.

The Belgian research expert recalled how the most demanded products during the pandemic – such as disinfectants, More expensive, thermometers, mechanical fans – just as “ghost cures for coronavirus” remain “the subject of scams powerful even online. “Not the only modus operandi of criminals, also involved in “more sophisticated” systems as “seizing the identity of the companies and offering the victims the sale of products linked to the pandemic, to disappear into thin air.” Among the victims, De Bolle revealed, “there were health authorities Member States and private companies “.

There is already an “increased infiltration of the economy” by criminal organizations, stressed the Europol executive director. This is why basic That the EU countries understand that the mafias have bet the funds destined to overcome the crisis produced by Covid-19. “The increase in infiltrations – added De Bolle – is the reason why Europol asked monitor carefully loans ”related to the recovery fund, since the“ funds established by the Member States are already signed up by criminal organizations and we hope they will be even more so ”.

The deputy chief of police and director of the Criminalpol Vittorio Rizzi, pointing out how the risk European countries run is to discover “too late” infiltrations, when “the damage to the real economy becomes irreparable”. As for Italy, she specified. Rizzi, at the moment “concrete evidence under the procedural profile” of infiltrations “there is no”.

“If there have been infiltrations yet, we don’t have any full consciousness but to think that there are countries and economic systems immune the risk of infiltration would be a very serious mistake, a serious myopia – warned Rizzi – Just as no country has been immune to Covid-19, no one will be immune to criminal organizations, which have already been included in the European fabric and all over the world. ” “Omnipresence” The virus is in fact the same as that of the mafias and nobody “can underestimate the enormous availability of the mafia organizations” because “in times of Economic recession necessary liquid assets, who has money available conquers the market ”.

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