Clandestine betting, money laundering and tax evasion: maxi confiscation of 160 million euros

Financiers of the Provincial Command of Catania and of the Central Investigation Service on Organized Crime of the Guardia di Finanza (Scico) confiscated the assets of two people, for a total amount of 160 million euros, under investigation for criminal association aimed at collecting bets clandestine, money laundering, fraud against the State and tax evasion, with the aggravating circumstance of the transnational crime. This is the first procedural outcome of a complex investigative activity, carried out by the Pef Unit of the Guardia di Finanza of Catania and by Scico, which led to an ordinance – carried out in March last year in the national territory (in Sicily, Emilia Romagna and Puglia) and European (in Germany, Poland and Malta) – with which the Judge for preliminary investigations of Catania ordered precautionary measures against 23 subjects, all under investigation, for various reasons, for abusive gambling and betting, tax evasion , aggravated fraud, self-laundering, aggravated conduct, for some of the suspects, with the aim of favoring the interests of the ‘Santapaola-Ercolano’ mafia association. In particular, the investigations, carried out by the specialized anti-money laundering units and by the Gico of the Pef Nucleus of Catania, originated from the investigation of a suspicious transaction report and concerned a system that would have been aimed at the illegal collection and management of sports bets. online, as well as activities aimed at laundering the related proceeds. In detail, it was highlighted that the subjects under investigation had created a special gaming platform on the internet, not authorized to operate in Italy, attributing the ownership to a Maltese company. In this regard, the subsequent tax audit activities, again carried out by the Pef Unit of the Guardia di Finanza, outlined the existence of a permanent establishment of the Maltese company in Italy which, in the period considered (years from 2013 to 2016), generated revenues undeclared for 570 million euros and omitted the declaration of tax on betting for an amount of approximately 30 million euros. The investigations made it possible to highlight that the illegal collection of ‘over the counter’ bets throughout the country would have been organized, again by the criminal association, through a network of agencies connected to the gaming platform. It was thus ascertained that only a minimal part of the bets took place online, while most of the bets would have been made in person and paid in cash. then flowed into the accounts of the Maltese company and, from there, would have been further recycled in the acquisition of land, buildings, companies in Italy (Puglia and Emilia-Romagna) and in Germany.