Mafia-run laundering scheme uncovered: Eurojust

By Giovanni Legorano

ROME (AA) - An international anti-mafia operation has uncovered an intricate money laundering scheme run by a mafia family from Palermo, southern Italy, Eurojust said Tuesday.

The operation, which involved law enforcers from Italy, Brazil and Switzerland, led to the arrest of one person in Brazil earlier Tuesday and to the freezing of financial assets worth €50 million ($54.7 million) in the three countries.

Law enforcers estimate the family’s profit from their crimes totaled €500 million, which they had reinvested in multiple companies in Brazil.

The illegal proceeds come from a range of crimes, including extortion, money laundering and fraudulent transfer of valuables.

The investigation was launched two years ago and uncovered an integrated network of financial professionals in Italy and around the world that supported the organized crime group.

Authorities carried out 21 searches in the homes of a range of suspects in Italy, while they searched the offices of 12 companies involved in the construction, real estate and hospitality sector in Brazil. In Switzerland, they searched the house of a businessman.​​​​​​​