Germany is popular with the Italian mafia: More than a thousand active members are said to be here and, for example, launder money from drug deals in restaurants. The Greens demand that tougher action be taken against this.
According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, there are more than a thousand suspected active members of the Italian mafia in Germany. Of these, 519 belong to the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta, 134 to the Sicilian Cosa Nostra and 118 to the Neapolitan Camorra, according to a response to a small question from the Greens, which is reported by the editorial network Germany (RND) and the AFP news agency.
“According to the survey by the Federal Criminal Police Office, together with the state criminal investigation offices of the federal states, a total of 1,003 suspected members of Italian organized crime living permanently in Germany were identified for the year 2022,” the ministry said. The number increased by 87 compared to the previous year.
Drugs, money laundering and tax fraud
In addition to suspected members of ‘Ndrangheta, Cosa Nostra and Camorra, 33 suspected members of the Stidda, a Sicilian criminal organization, and 37 suspected members of the Apulian organized crime group lived in Germany. Another 162 suspected members of Italian organized crime were not assigned to any of these groups.
They are particularly active in the catering industry, the food trade and the motor vehicle industry. Crimes are committed with drugs as well as through money laundering and tax fraud, the ministry response said. Criminal proceeds of around 2.3 million euros were identified, of which only around 683,000 euros were confiscated in 2022.
The ministry was unable to provide any information on the number of criminal proceedings against the mafia or the amount of actual profits. According to RND, experts assume that there is a significant number of unreported cases.
Emmerich: Germany as the “washing machine of Europe”
The chairman of the Green parliamentary group in the Bundestag Interior Committee, Marcel Emmerich, told the RND: “The mafia is spinning its web in Germany today as well as in large parts of Italy.” She manages to “increasingly build relationships with politics and business under the guise of supposedly serious business people.” Nevertheless, the mafia continues to be underestimated. “Germany is Europe’s washing machine for criminals,” says Emmerich. It is estimated that more than a hundred billion euros are laundered every year.
It is a first step that real estate is no longer allowed to be bought with cash, said Emmerich. “It is also necessary to set up an exit program to show those affected a way out and to weaken the structures of organized crime.” In addition, the federal and state governments would have to work more closely together in investigations.