Italian police find €1.7bn corporate tax fraud
Italian police have discovered a €1.7bn corporate tax fraud, reports said on Tuesday.
Twenty-three companies were raided as police seized assets worth €100m during a major anti-mafia operation and are currently investigating 60 people over criminal association, money laundering, fraudulent bankruptcy and tax evasion, according to ANSA news agency.
The operation was carried out in Calabria, south of Italy, and in the northern cities of Lombardy and Veneto.
Xinhua news agency reported the people arrested were allegedly part of the mafia groups Pesce and the Mole, who belong to The ‘Ndrangheta, one of the main criminal organizations in the country.
With a presence in 30 countries around the world, the 'Ndrangheta's annual turnover in 2013 was estimated at €53bn and activities that would have a value equivalent to 3.5% of Italy's gross domestic product.