28 minutes agoCriminal organisations hit by Elbasan, SPAK and Italian counterparts charge 4m euros in assets
Periskopi(a year ago)
(a year ago)The Special Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime Prosecutor in Albania and Verona's Prosecutor carried out a joint operation against a criminal organisation by Elbasan, which operated in Verona, Italy and was responsible for transporting large quantities of cocaine from South America to the European market. Investigations conducted by [...]
Investigations conducted by the Special Prosecution, the National Bureau of Investigation, Guardia di Finanza section of Verona's financial investigators led to the preventative sequential sequential sequentiality of active and real estate, financial resources and shares of a commercial society, which exceeded the value of 4m euros.
The selection was executed today on July 3rd following the Verona Court's decision, as a preventative measure, within the continuation of the investigation.
The properties of the seized are:
A building, real estate in Nogarole Rocca (Verona)
A building, worth about 3m euros, comprised of 30 units (houses and shops) (Verona)
A bank account depositing office and store rents (about $400,000 a year)
A commercial company operating in the construction field, with 100% quotas in Italy.
The investigations found that these assets were created and financed with benefits from international narcotics trafficking from South America to European markets. Attention focused on a real estate company in Italy to which large amounts of money were sent through the banking system. It has resulted that the money came from Albania, after the criminal organisation transferred revenues from a trade company in Albania, owned by two Albanian brothers and these sums were invested in Italy in construction, reconstruction of buildings, which were then rented.
One of the two brothers has been declared international in search, while the other is in a prison in Belgium. He was arrested in Verona in June 2017, following the execution of an arrest warrant issued by Belgian authorities on suspicion of involvement in a mafia murder in Anteprep, as a result of conflicts between rival drug trafficking groups.
For the latter, there is also a decision issued by the Court of First Scale for Corruption and Organised Crime, following investigations conducted by the SPAK, for criminal acts: “attempted murder”, “holds and production without gun permission”, “International Narco5> and” Passing products of criminal work or criminal activity”.
Thanks to the joint investigative team between Verona's Prosecution and the SPAK, it was found that the use of large financial resources spilling from Albania into the Italian economy also represented the final link of money laundering carried out abroad through a trade society in Albania, owned by the criminal organisation.
In Albania, suspicious real estate transactions have been conducted, with the aim of preventing the trace of illegal money origin and thus benefiting “clean-up services”, with profits obtained from alleged transactions, which could be reused into investments in real estate, on Italian territory.
Real estate and financial resources belonging to the administrator of an real estate company in Verona, owned by a pair of Albanians, involved in narcotics trafficking in the past. They were viewed as the two brothers ' trusted people and resulted in their finding the criminal organization's list of payments. Controls have also been conducted against major subjects and their Italian aides in order to find further evidence.
Criminal proceedings are in the phase of preliminary investigations.
For the Verona Prosecutor, this is the first case of an Albanian criminal organisation, which invests in real estate on the territory of a European Union state in this case, Italy.
The conducted operation confirms the importance of international co-operation between the SPAK and the Italian authorities in fighting organised crime and money laundering. (A2 Television). /Periscope/
