Italian Businessman Arrested in Brazil Over $550 Million…

ROME, Aug 13 (Reuters) – An Italian businessman has been arrested in the Brazilian city of Natal as part of an international investigation into a mafia network estimated to be worth 500 million euros ($550 million), Italian financial police said on Tuesday.

The man, named Giuseppe Bruno, is accused of, among other things, extortion, money laundering and external complicity in mafia connections, police said in a statement.

The investigation found “traces of substantial investments of mafia capital in business enterprises and companies,” the statement said.

The investigation started in 2022 and involved Italian, Brazilian and Swiss police forces.

They led to the seizure of assets worth 50 million euros and to charges against 17 people and 12 real estate, construction and restoration companies in the three countries.

According to police, money from Brazil has been flowing into the pockets of major mafia families with ties to the Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian mafia, through a network in Switzerland, Hong Kong and Singapore since 2016. ($1 = 0.9151 euros) (Reporting by Alessandro Parodi, Editing by Gavin Jones and Alison Williams)