Mafia is now Italy's 'biggest bank' - and they're squeezing the life out of small business (quite literally)

Organised crime is the biggest earner in Italy - with a turnover of more £100 billion a year - according to a report by business chiefs. Extortion and intimidation is used to extract millions from shopkeepers, restaurants, cinemas, construction companies and thousands of other businesses as the godfathers spread their criminal enterprises across the whole of the country. As a result of the ongoing economic crisis the Mafia is also cashing in with its traditional money-raising means of loan sharking - charging extortionate interest rates to hard-pressed businesses who are unable to raise funds. According to a report titled Criminality's Grip On Business, the various Mafia groups across Italy make a profit of around £116 billion a year - a figure equivalent to seven per cent of the country's GDP. It is a massive amount of money leaving the economy and passing from businesses straight into the pockets of gangsters. The report said that 'every minute' a business or commercial activity was directly affected by organised crime - with no part of the country escaping, and with a surge of activity in the capital Rome.

Intimidation and murder: Mariano Bacioterracino was shot dead in 2009, a classic Mafia-style public 'hit' intended to spread fear and keep control

Hollywood version: The Godfather (1972), with James Caan and Marlon Brando, is one of many films portraying the Mafia as a 'cruel but fair' family business

Marco Venturi, president of Confesercenti - an association of small- and medium-sized companies, and publisher of the report - described the Mafia as 'the biggest bank in the country' with liquid assets of more than £50 billion. Mr Venturi added that, as a result of extortion and loan sharking, more than 190,000 businesses had been forced to shut in the past three years alone. He explained that Rome was the prime city targeted by organised crime gangs, with the Sicilian Mafia, Naples Camorra, Calabrian N'drangheta and the Sacra Corona Unita from the Puglia region all having an active 'financial interest' in the capital city.

Via Veneto: One of the most famous (and expensive) streets in Rome, its bars and restaurants have been targeted for money laundering and extortion

Only last year it was revealed that the N'drangheta were using several famous restaurants and wine bars along the famous Via Veneto in the centre of Rome for money laundering, as well as being targeted for extortion. Loan sharking was also rampant in the Sicilian cities of Palermo and Catania - as well as Naples in the south and Reggio Calabria - with those who failed to meet repayments being subjected to violence and intimidation by mobsters.

ORGANISED CRIME IN ITALY ... THE MAIN PLAYERS

Sicilian Mafia: Also known as the Cosa Nostra, the 19th century criminal syndicate has been made famous by Hollywood - and its name is now a generic term for any organised criminal network with similar structure, methods, and interests.
Camorra: A secret society from the region of Campania, it is one of the oldest and largest criminal organisations in Italy. Unlike the Mafia's 'Godfather' pyramid structure, the Camorra clans act independently, making it more resilient when bosses are arrested or killed.
'Ndrangheta: This 19th century syndicate from the Calabria region is considered to be one of the most powerful criminal organisations in the world - with a remarkable ability to migrate to other countries, including Argentina, the Netherlands and Australia.
Sacra Corona Unita: The youngest of the syndicates, set up in the 1970s, the SCU specialises in smuggling - from drugs and weapons to people. They charge other criminal organisations 'landing rights' to the Apulian coast in the south-east - a gateway to and from countries like Albania.

The report said extortionate money lending had become an easy and lucrative way to make money - compared to the more traditional means of drug running, arms smuggling, prostitution and gambling.
It added: 'The classic neighbourhood or street loan shark is on the way out, giving way to organised loan sharking that is well connected with professional circles, and operates with the connivance of high-level professionals. 'This is extortion with a clean face. Through their professions, they know the financial position of their victims perfectly.' Mr Venturi said: 'There are parts of the country that are controlled by organised crime, and the ongoing financial crisis - coupled with the lack of money - has made this problem even more dramatic. The government is tackling the issue but more attention is needed to stop the shadow of organised crime spreading further.' Italy's Interior Ministry has a special department dealing with extortion and loan sharking. Called the Anti-Racket Commission, it is headed by former police chief Giancarlo Trevisone.
Chief Trevisone said: 'Our objective is to reconquer the territory that is in the hands of the Mafia.'