Some 336 people have been placed under investigation in a probe into Cosa Nostra-run illegal online betting across Italy and abroad.
Some 23 people were arrested in Sicily, Emilia Romagna, Puglia, Germany, Poland and Malta. Anti-mafia police have charged them with illegal betting, tax evasion, aggravated fraud and money laundering.
They were also charged with favoring the Catania-based Cosa Nostra clan Santapaola-Ercolano, run from jail by superboss Benedetto ‘Nitto’ Santapaola.
Police seized some 80 million euros in assets in the probe.
Those investigated are accused of running the illegal online betting platform “Raisebet24.com”, based in Malta.
The proceeds from the scam, amounting to over 62 million euros, were then recycled in Italy and Germany, police said.
Police also seized some 180,000 euros in cash hidden in the false bottom of a car.
The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) commented on the case saying “illegal betting is a prey of the Mafia”.
Main Photo: File photo by EPA/STEFANO GUATELLI
Via ANSA
Foreign ministers from the European Union are expected to discuss reinforcing the bloc’s Aspides naval mission when they meet in Brussels on Monday, as pressure mounts from Donald Trump ...
War in the Middle East is disrupting the flow of critical medicines to the Gulf, imperilling supply routes for cancer drugs and other treatments that require refrigeration and forcing co...
Morning Briefing
PM Abela: Malta Must Offer Stability Amid Global Uncertainty
Prime Minister Robert Abela has said Malta must remain a country that provides certainty and stability...
Morning Briefing
Tender for €300m Evans Building Hotel Scrapped by Review Board
The award of a €300 million government concession to redevelop the historic Evans Building into a lu...
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament today that in just ten days of conflict in the Middle East, fossil fuel imports have cost the EU an additi...
The Socialists and Democrats (S&D) Group in the European Parliament has demanded urgent clarification from the European Commission over its participation in the first meeting of the ...
War in the Middle East is disrupting the flow of critical medicines to the Gulf, imperilling supply routes for cancer drugs and other treatments that require refrigeration and forcing co...
Oil prices rose on Monday as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran continued to disrupt oil production and shipping in the Middle East, despite U.S. President Donald Trump's call for global effo...
Vivian continues to widen its portfolio with the announcement of new representation agreements with worldwide R&D pharmaceutical companies. “These latest agreements crown a very succ...
Two local analysts have cautioned that any attempt by EU Member States to block or restrict the passporting of crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) authorised under the Markets in...
Public transport users are being advised of temporary bus route diversions in the St Julian’s area on St Patrick’s Day, on Tuesday 17th March, due to road closures linked to the celebrat...
The EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) was already highly unfair to Malta as an island state, placing heavy pressure on the international trailer operators that sustain Malta’s connecti...
Iran’s military command warned that oil prices could surge to $200 a barrel as tensions escalate in the Gulf, where three more ships have reportedly been struck amid the blockade of the ...
The United States and Israel exchanged air strikes with Iranian military targets across the Middle East, as Tehran warned that its security forces had their “fingers on the trigger” to c...
Thousands of Cuban security personnel have begun leaving Caracas after nearly two decades in Venezuela, as Washington ramps up efforts to dismantle the long standing alliance between the...
María Corina Machado is a prominent figure in Venezuela’s opposition. She has reported that one of her closest associates, Juan Pablo Guanipa, was abducted. This occurred mere hours afte...
Ukraine will complete the technical work needed to open negotiations on all topics for its European Union accession process within days, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
Zelenski...
More than 1,700 Africans are fighting for Russia in its war in Ukraine, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, adding that Moscow was using deception to trick them into fighting....
