Mob Rules: How Is the Italian Mafia Looking to Exploit the Coronavirus Situation?

The mafia is no stranger to exploiting emergencies and natural disasters for profit or using a crisis as a business opportunity – here’s how they could abuse the current pandemic.

Coronavirus = Business Opportunity

With Europe’s economy taking massive hits due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the measures implemented to contain the spread of the disease, the mafia is rising to exploit the situation and profit from the crisis.

Sabrina Pignedoli, an MEP from Italy’s 5Star Movement, warned that criminal activity is likely to spike, and not only in Italy – “Russian and Albanian mafias can also pose a risk.”

This isn’t the first rodeo for most organized crime syndicates – most even have their own guidebook on how to make money in such situations. Sicilian city Messina’s chief prosecutor Maurizio De Lucia said that the mafia will likely move to offer liquidity to companies facing bankruptcy in exchange for shares, before changing the business how they see fit – because they would now own it and the owner in name becomes a front man for the group to profit off of.

Italy’s police central crime directive is expecting aggression in sectors like the aggro-food supply chain, health care and medical supplies, and hotels and restaurants. Eastern Europe could also be a target due to its growing economy and susceptibility to corruption.

The Italian mafia has also been siphoning off EU funds meant for construction and has spread the method all around the continent. The drug business is also still booming despite the restrictions, with some doing home deliveries to clients, and others discreetly selling outside supermarkets, or even churches.

“People always find money for drugs,” a Cosa Nostra insider told Politico.

New activities also include counterfeit medical supplies and pharmaceuticals, as a transnational operation was busted last month, leading to 121 arrests and the confiscation of roughly €13 million in pharmaceuticals.

The biggest advantage that organized crime currently has is the country leaders’ attention being entirely focused on the immediate health risks of the Coronavirus outbreak.