In Tuscany the economy that moves outside the confines of the law is worth 11.3 billion euros, a figure equal to 11.7% of the regional gross domestic product. The data, in line with the national one, emerges from the Irpet report “Illegality and organized crime in the Tuscan economy”.
The data
In detail, the economy connected to illegal activities, i.e. the set of products whose production, sale or distribution is prohibited by law, is worth a turnover of 1.2 billion euros. This figure is added to the 10.1 billion attributed to the underground economy, which includes all the activities that remain hidden from the tax authorities.
Recycling alarm
Behind these figures also hide the attempts of organized crime to launder and clean money in Tuscany, a region where the mafias, although not rooted in the territory, are active in carrying out their business by attacking the economic system for the purposes of money laundering of dirty money. According to the Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate, the Irpet report states, Tuscany “confirms itself as one of the privileged areas for money laundering activities and for the implementation of large-scale financial economic crimes”. The mafia culture has therefore not polluted the social fabric, but uses the territory, as happens in other regions of the North, for its own illicit business.
The institutions
«There are reasons for concern – says the president of the Region Eugenio Giani – because undoubtedly when we see a ring of underground and criminal activities quantifiable in over 11 billion there is concern, Tuscany is highly attractive, especially for money laundering and reinvesting the proceeds of illicit activities. But there are also antibodies, we see that the concerted action of institutions, judiciary and law enforcement allows us to block the infiltration attempts of organized crime.”
The presence of the mafia
The indicators developed by Irpet say this: the mafia is not objectively present in Tuscany, but instead the values that refer to infiltration into the economic fabric are critical, such as cases of money laundering, counterfeiting, smuggling, narcotics, environmental crimes, exploitation of prostitution. Under these items, which in the Irpet report fall under the heading “indicators of the exercise of illicit activity”, Tuscany ranks ninth in Italy. The province of Livorno is the one that records the highest synthetic index of mafia presence.
Paper companies
Paper companies, created to issue invoices for non-existent operations and to evade tax controls and evade taxes, represent 3.6% of the total Tuscan companies (the national average is 5%). The sectors most affected are those of financial and insurance activities (6.6% of the total), construction (5.8%) and trade 5.4%. As regards the trend of crimes, Tuscany emerges as a critical case for counterfeiting. The provinces of Florence, Prato, Livorno and Grosseto are in the group of Italian provinces where this type of offense is most present.
Irregular work
Irpet estimates quantify an added value linked to irregular work in Tuscany equal to 3.7% of the regional added value, for a total of 3.6 billion. Contribution evasion linked to irregular work is estimated at around 604 million euros.
