Problem underestimated
Italian crime fighter: 'Mafia launders money through pizzerias in the Netherlands'
By Maarten Veeger and Koen Voskuil ·8 hours ago· Amended: 8 hours ago

The Italian mafia does not only come to the Netherlands for drug trafficking, but also to launder money. This happens - classically enough - regularly via Italian restaurants, says the influential Italian mafia fighter Nicola Gratteri in an interview with RTL Nieuws.

In the Netherlands, the mafia likes to invest its criminal money in Italian restaurants and hotels, says Gratteri. "Some owners have official hospitality training and have all the papers. But in reality, they are money launderers. I don't want to criminalize Italian restaurants, because there are many hard-working entrepreneurs who have nothing to do with crime. But there are also members of the 'Ndrangheta (South Italian mafia) among them."

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Gratteri has been chief prosecutor in Naples since last year. Before that, he worked in southern Italy for more than twenty years. He experiences the dangers of organized crime first-hand. After several failed attempts on his life, he travels in bullet- and bomb-proof cars. Wherever he goes, he is surrounded by bodyguards.

Heavily armed soldiers are standing in front of the courthouse in Naples, where the interview takes place.


Neapolitan chief prosecutor Nicola Gratteri is calling for longer prison sentences for drug criminals in the Netherlands.
Since the 1990s, Nicola Gratteri has been trying to convince the Netherlands of the danger of the Italian mafia. For a long time, he felt that his advice was ignored. "I told judges and officers: listen, the 'Ndrangheta is active in the Netherlands. But politics did not see the problem. That is why there was a lack of instruments to combat the mafia."

In recent years, Gratteri has noticed more urgency among his colleagues in the Netherlands. "They have discovered that the situation is no longer under control after the murder of the family of a key witness, a lawyer and a journalist. Last year, the then Dutch Minister of Justice and Security (Dilan Ye?ilgöz, ed.) visited Italy to learn from us and copy bits from Italian legislation. I hope that Dutch politics will take action and create a system that fits the criminal reality of today."

Mafia deaths
While there has been a lot of violence in the Netherlands in recent years, the mafia in Italy is operating more and more quietly. "The mafia hardly commits any murders anymore. Today, more women are killed at home by their husbands than there are mafia deaths. The mafia no longer has to shoot. Just knowing that someone is a member of the mafia is intimidating."

But that silence doesn't make the organization any less dangerous, Gratteri warns. "Don't forget that the mafia does more than sell coke. Many politicians collaborate with the mafia in exchange for votes, money, favors. There is no longer any need to threaten people by using violence, shooting at roller shutters and setting cars on fire. As a result, the public does not see the danger. People underestimate the problem."

Characteristic apartment buildings in the Scampia district of Naples, where the local mafia Camorra was based for many years.

Gratteri believes that countries like the Netherlands should do more to combat crime. "Everyone says they are worried, and everyone says they don't want a mafia in Europe. But in reality, they don't have the strength or the will to make serious and tough laws so that crime no longer pays."

What is lacking in the Netherlands is the legislation, he says. "First you have to increase the sentences. Because if you have 10 kilos of cocaine in the Netherlands, you get off with 2 to 3 years in prison. That makes the risk very low. In Italy, the prison sentence for drug trafficking is between 20 and 30 years. Then you have a completely different perspective."

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Gratteri also points to the broader possibilities for confiscating money and goods in Italy. "If you cannot explain a certain asset, in a legal way, then I confiscate it. It could be a Ferrari, a gold watch, a boat. In doing so, you also implement preventive measures. These are the first two things I think of."

Influencing opinion
The seasoned mafia fighter hopes that Dutch politics will take more steps to effectively tackle organised crime. "If we continue like this, the presence of the mafia in Europe will continue to grow. Then the mafia will penetrate further and further, with control over larger parts of the economy. And that is how the dirty money from crime enters the legal economy. And in the future you can also buy up TV stations and newspapers, which influence public opinion. That is how it happened in Italy and it can also happen in Europe."

https://www.rtl.nl/nieuws/binnenland/artikel/5476070/maffiabestrijder-over-witwassen-pizzerias