Thousands of Italian restaurants in hands of mafias

At least 5,000 restaurants in Italy are managed by mafia-style criminal organizations, which have an increasing control of the country's food industry, a study presented here on Thursday said.

According to the study, which was conducted by Italy's largest farm association Coldiretti and Eurispes research agency, the hands of mafias on the whole of the country's food industry generated a turnover of 15.4 billion euros (18.17 billion U.S. dollars) in 2014.

The figure increased by as much as 10 percent last year compared to 2013, differently by other industrial sectors of the recession-hit economy.

"Production, distribution and sale (in the food industry) are more and more penetrated and conditioned by the criminal power, which is exerted in refined ways through finance and corporate plots, the conquest of prestigious brands and conditioning of market," the study said.

The hands of mafia on the food industry extends throughout Italian food companies, hotels, restaurants and commercial businesses, often with the help of figureheads or intermediaries, according to the study.

Such a detailed control of food industry not only allows criminal organizations to launder illegal assets deriving from drug trafficking, racket and usury, but also reinforces criminal control of the territory, Coldiretti and Eurispes said.

The food-themed world exposition which will run from May 1 to Oct. 31 in Milan will be an important target of criminal organizations, the study also highlighted.

The study estimated that counterfeit "made in Italy" food products marketed during the Expo Milano 2015 could be worth more than 60 billion euros.

Coldiretti and Eurispes called for a strengthening of checks and transparency in the food industry, one of the pillars and excellences of the Italian economy. (1 euro = 1.18 U.S. dollars)

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