Kovesi: Italian and Chinese mafia make money in Romania from fraud and cryptocurrencies

Laura Codruta Kovesi, chief  prosecutor of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) said in an interview for Libertatea.ro that the frauds with the VAT reached an worrying amplitude in Romania and the EU. Kovesi states that this type of crime has become a real ‘industry of crime’.   Laura Codrut Kovesi stated that she noticed the direct involvement of Italian mafia in the VAT frauds in Romania. ‘I have seen an involvement of the Italian mafia, which moved a part of their activity here. I saw these online markets which are organized in Romania. So, I could say that Romania is not protected’ Kovesi said.   According to the head of EPPO, Romania is attractive not only for the Italian mafia but to the crime networks of China. ‘ Romania is a fertile territory  not only for the Italian mafia but it is for the Chinese mafia. We see groups from third states who practically invade Europe’ Kovesi warned for Libertatea.   Kovesi also drew the attention on the use of new technologies by the crimie networks. "We see a lot of, for example, cryptocurrency trading. Investing in cryptocurrencies seems like a resource to try to launder money, but also to keep the proceeds of crime. We see this as a trend in Romania as well," she said.   At the same time, Romania is not excluded from the risks connected to the use of artificial intelligence. Asked why Romania is so exposed to such networks, Kovesi explained that organized crime take advantages of all legal vulnerabilities.  ‘They establish the main headquarters in different member states whee they try to remain undetected. If, for example, tomorrow Romania becomes a dangerous environment for them, they move to Bulgaria and commit damage in the other states’ the chief prosector said.   Kovesi revealed that the Italian mafia was also involved in fraud involving EU funds, not just VAT schemes. "They commit any crime that brings them revenue. The Italian mafia has also been behind fraud with EU funds, including in the NRRP," she said.   These networks have access to billions of euros a year and can afford to hire experts - accountants, lawyers - who point out weaknesses in each member state.   As for working with the Romanian authorities, Kovesi says the relationship with the National Office for Preventing and Combating Money Laundering is good. "So far we have had no problems. There have been situations where they have reported certain suspicious transactions to us," she said. However, she stressed that the problem remains the lack of efficiency in detecting and reporting VAT fraud.   In her opinion, VAT fraud is more profitable than human trafficking and drug trafficking. "In Romania, we have seen the involvement of the Italian mafia and the Chinese mafia in this area," said Kövesi, who recalled that Romania has a VAT collection deficit of 30.6%, the highest in the EU.