Italian mafia bust reveals deep Santapaola gaming links to Malta
Santapaola-Ercolano clan has had longtime links to Maltese remote gaming companies
15 March 2021, 8:48am
by Matthew Vella
Cash bets collected in Italy were smuggled in cars that made regular trips to Malta on the Pozzola ferry; the money would then be used to make online bets, with the proceeds being laundered through property acquisitions in other countries
A Maltese company connected to the Santapaola-Ercolano mafia clan in Catania, Sicily, was alleged to have facilitated the evasion of some €30 million in taxation by Italian finance police.
The investigation by the Italian anti-mafia police in Catania and its organised crime unit Scico – dubbed Operation ‘Doppio Gioco’ – resulted in the seizure of over €80 million in assets from an online sports betting operation with branches in Malta, Germany, Poland and various Italian cities.