In 2024 opaque movements of 49 billion. Carbone: on the bridge contracts the Dia has the background for prevention
The Dia, headed by General Michele Carbone, for the first time presents a single annual report instead of a six-monthly one. Traced 150 thousand SOS, of which 50 thousand linked to mafia contexts. Preventive action on contracts and direct controls on construction sites already underway strengthened
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Follow the money, said Giovanni Falcone. Today that principle has become method. It is the compass of the Anti-Mafia Investigative Directorate, directed by General Michele Carbone, which for the first time condenses into a single report the offensive against mafia infiltration, particularly in the financial and public procurement sectors. This is a change of course compared to the recent past, when the anti-mafia dossier was presented every six months and always very late. The aim of this acceleration is clear: to give an overview of the phenomena for the benefit of politics, the judiciary, prefectures and other institutional stakeholders. As close an account as possible of the investigative activities that have made it possible over the past year to intercept flows, unmask corporate 'Chinese boxes' and reconstruct the economic networks used by the mafias to clean up billions of euro. Because today criminal organisations do not shoot, they invest. They do it with sophisticated financial architectures, including trusts, offshore accounts and digital triangulations, using investment funds.
The director of the Dia Carbone specified that with regard to the contracts for the Strait Bridge 'we have the background for prevention'.
Sos in figures: a river of money to follow
The numbers tell the impressiveness of the challenge better than any slogan: over 150 thousand suspicious transaction reports (Sos) analysed in 2024 by the Dia, concerning 1.6 million physical and legal entities. But there is more: 50 thousand Sos were classified as potentially linked to organised crime contexts and forwarded to the National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Directorate (Dnaa). Behind these reports lies an impressive economic flow: 1.3 million suspicious transactions, worth EUR 49.2 billion. Almost as much as a budget law.
The digital front: agreements, encryption and cooperation
.To combat the phenomenon, the Dia has signed a new 'Technical Agreement' in 2024 with the Dnaa, Guardia di Finanza and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), implementing the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2023. The heart of the agreement is a protected and rapid exchange of sensitive information, with asymmetric encryption digital protocols, electronic certificates and streamlined flows. The advantage? A faster, interoperable and secure system, capable of connecting the dots in real time between the different entities fighting money laundering. In practice, an anti-mafia neural network that speeds up the sharing of crucial data and allows action to be taken before dirty money enters legal circuits.
Public Procurement: Preventive Action
The public procurement front, with the rich disbursements under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, remains an emergency.
