1/ This is a story about modern finance. It begins in a hospital infiltrated by organised criminals in southern Italy and ends in the investment portfolios of clients of a private bank in Luxembourg.
ft.com/content/885058…
ft.com/content/885058…
2/ It is a story about the rise of the family clans of the ’Ndrangheta from rural also-rans in the world of Italian organised crime to become vastly wealthy, sophisticated and powerful operations that inspire terror in those who cross them.
3/ It is also a story about the brave Italian investigators and prosecutors who risk their lives to fight the menace of organised crime, and have over the last three years uncovered increasing evidence of mafia infiltration of the public health system in parts of Calabria.
4/ The Calabrian health system has struggled for many years, weighed down by vast debts, bad administration and the presence of organised crime. This has an awful human cost, with health expectations in the region far lower than Italy’s north.
5/ Some companies later charged with crimes linked to the health sector by the Italian authorities sold invoices owed to them by the Italian state into securitisation vehicles, which unknowingly blended these with far larger amounts of legitimate assets and then issued bonds.
6/ This modern twist on an old tale allowed the assets linked to the proceeds of crime to hurtle through the legitimate global financial sector in a way that would have been impossible in a less financialised age.
7/ The legitimate financial companies that accidentally structured or purchased these invoices said they were never aware they were connected with organised crime when they were acquired, and all necessary due diligence was performed. They are not accused of wrongdoing.
8/ When they discovered problems with any invoices after anti-mafia operations they reported the issue to the Italian authorities. The amount of invoices later linked with crime were very small compared to the legitimate invoices they handled.
9/ There are also other heroes like Gaetano Saffioti, a Calabrian businessman who has risked his life to stand up to mafia clans whose crimes suck the region of its vitality and future. It is people like him who give hope that things will get better.
10/ You can read the full investigation here: ft.com/content/885058…
