Italian mafia earns more than McDonald's: Study

Italian mafia earns more than McDonald's: Study

With a turnover of 53 billion euros (S$92 billion) last year, the 'Ndrangheta mafia from southern Italy made more money last year than Deutsche Bank and McDonald's combined, a new study said on Wednesday.

The study by the Demoskopika research institute detailed the international crime syndicate's sources of revenue.

This includes drug trafficking, which brought in about 24.2 billion euros, and the illegal garbage disposal business, which earned it 19.6 billion euros, AFP reported

The southern Italian mafia earned the equivalent of 3.5 per cent of Italy's gross domestic product last year, the report said.

The 'Ndrangheta is thought to have some 400 key "operatives" in 30 countries, but its activities are believed to involve as many as 60,000 people worldwide, the report said.

The 'Ndrangheta - the name comes from the Greek word for courage or loyalty - has a tight clan structure which makes it famously difficult to penetrate.


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