Italian Financial Police Arrest 94 People Over Mafia EU Farming Funds Scam

Over 90 people were arrested on Wednesday morning during a large-scale operation by Italian law enforcement agencies in Sicily targeting a mafia that stole millions of euros from EU funds for farmers, the Guardia di Finanza (GdF), an Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Economy and Finance Minister, said in a statement

ROME (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th January, 2020) Over 90 people were arrested on Wednesday morning during a large-scale operation by Italian law enforcement agencies in Sicily targeting a mafia that stole millions of Euros from EU funds for farmers, the Guardia di Finanza (GdF), an Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Economy and Finance Minister, said in a statement.

According to the statement, a total of 94 people were arrested in the morning raids, including the heads of two mafia families, as well as local entrepreneurs and government officials accused of being involved in mafia activities, the organization of a drug trafficking channels, extortion and fraud in order to obtain government subsidies.

In addition, the Sicilian La Gazzetta del Sud newspaper reported that over 600 law enforcement officers participated in the landmark operation that resulted not only in multiple detentions but also seizure of 150 businesses.

The newspaper also reported that according to prosecutors in the city of Messina, mafia clans, which formed an alliance, received over 5.5 million euros (over $6 million) through a series of frauds against a state agency responsible for allocating EU funds to develop agriculture.