Massimo Carminati, boss of an alleged mafia group in Rome, is said to have made millions of euros before his arrest in December 2014. But this financial treasure is nowhere to be found.
We followed some of the tracks left behind by his group all the way to London, where some of his money is believed to be hidden. Here, we discovered, they relied on trusted contacts: lawyers, real estate moguls but, above all, former neo-fascists who had fled to the UK as fugitives in the 80s.
Among them is Vittorio Spadavecchia, an old friend of Carminati, who alongside his business partner manages a £14m property empire in Central London. Despite a 14-years jail term for terrorism, Spadavecchia has never been extradited to Italy to serve his sentence.
The group led by Carminati also allegedly exploited London’s financial centre to create companies which are nothing more than empty boxes and move money offshore.
ONLINE
- Mafia Capitale, così Massimo Carminati ha nascosto il suo tesoro a Londra - L'Espresso, 24/4/2017
- Italian ‘terrorist’ allowed to stay in UK - The Times, 23/04/2017
- Calling London - OCCRP, 18/02/2020
- Londra, 240 società e 4 indirizzi. L’enigma del professionista italiano che le ha create - Sole24ore.it, 17/02/2020
need resources for your own investigative story?
Journalismfund Europe's flexible grants programmes enable journalists to produce relevant public interest stories with a European mind-set from international, national, and regional perspectives.
support independent cross-border investigative journalism
We rely on your support to continue the work that we do. Make a gift of any amount today.