Mafia now "Italy's No 1 bank" as crisis bites: Report

Organised crime has tightened its grip on the Italian economy during the economic crisis, making the Mafia the country's biggest "bank" and squeezing the life out of thousands of small firms, according to a report on Tuesday.

Extortionate lending by criminal groups had become a "national emergency," said the report by anti-crime group SOS Impresa.

Image: An undated handout file picture shows Mafia boss Michele Zagaria, who was arrested December 7, 2011 in Naples.

Text: Reuters

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