| Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005. |
Italy mafia probe nets 1.3b euros
Credit: AAP | April 03, 2013 | www.adelaidenow.com.au ~~
Translate: FROM English | TO English
Translate: FROM English | TO English
Italian police say they have seized mafia-linked assets worth 1.3 billion euros ($A1.63 billion) from a Sicilian renewable energy developer.
The assets, including 43 wind and solar energy companies, 98 properties and 66 bank accounts, belonged to Vito Nicastri, a 57-year-old businessman dubbed the “Lord of the Wind” for his prominent role in the business.
“This is a sector in which money can easily be laundered,” Arturo de Felice, head of Italy’s anti-mafia agency, told news channel SkyTG24 on Wednesday.
“Operating in a grey area helped him build up his business over the years,” De Felice said.
The anti-mafia agency said in a statement it was the biggest seizure of mafia-linked assets.
The assets had been frozen in 2010 and Nicastri is on probation under orders not to leave his town of Alcamo in western Sicily during the investigation.
Nicastri had “numerous and high-level contacts with mafia figures,” the anti-mafia agency said, adding that this had been confirmed by messages found during the arrest of two local mafia bosses.
The businessman was also linked to Matteo Messina Denaro, a fugitive considered the godfather of the Sicilian mafia, the statement said.
Italy’s renewable energy sector has been heavily infiltrated by the mafia because of once-generous state subsidies and lax controls.
This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.
The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.
| Wind Watch relies entirely on User Funding |
 (via Stripe) |
 (via Paypal) |
Share:
[ Short URL: https://wind-watch.org/news/?p=35354 ]
