30.05.2026 11:41
Assets worth €200 million obtained from drug trafficking by Mafia boss Mattia Messina Denaro, who fled for 30 years in Italy, was captured in 2023 and later died, have been seized in simultaneous operations across 9 countries.
Italy's financial police (Guardia Di Finanza) have seized assets worth over 200 million euros, obtained from drug trafficking by organized crime boss Mattia Messina Denaro, who was captured in 2023 after years on the run and died the same year, across different countries.
According to a written statement from the Financial Police, international operations were conducted under the direction of the Palermo prosecutor's office as part of the fight against mafia-type organized crime groups, targeting the assets Denaro acquired from drug trafficking before his death in 2023.
ASSETS EXCEED 200 MILLION EUROS
As a result of searches in simultaneous operations in Italy, Andorra, Gibraltar, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Lebanon, the Cayman Islands, the Principality of Monaco, and Spain, significant assets that Denaro had acquired from drug trafficking since the 1980s and reinvested in European and non-European countries were identified.
According to the statement, assets worth over 200 million euros in total and some companies belonging to Denaro were seized, while three people were detained.
The financial police's statement also included information that the investigation and operation began following a tip from Andorran authorities about a woman with close ties to Cosa Nostra, and that the money was traced.
Palermo Chief Prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia said in a statement about the operation, "We believe we have identified a significant portion of the mafia's investments, including those abroad. This was possible thanks to the cooperation of judicial authorities in other countries."
DENARO WAS ON THE RUN FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS
Mattia Messina Denaro, one of the leaders of the mafia group "Cosa Nostra," an organized crime syndicate operating on the island of Sicily in and around the city of Trapani, was captured on January 16, 2023, after being on the run for about 30 years in Italy.
Denaro died on September 25, 2023, in the hospital of the high-security prison in L'Aquila, where he was being treated for cancer, shortly after his capture.
Denaro was reported to be responsible for major crimes over the past 30 years, including the assassinations of famous judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, who became national symbols in the fight against the mafia but fell victim to the mafia in 1992, as well as the bombings in Milan, Florence, and Rome carried out by the mafia in 1993.