ROME. Italian authorities have seized assets worth an estimated €12 million from a convicted Mafia boss, including luxury villas, sports cars and company shares, in an operation coordinated with the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO). The SFO has called for an EU-wide asset freeze to prevent the proceeds of organised crime from being laundered through the bloc’s financial systems.
The operation, led by Italy’s Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate (DIA), targeted assets linked to a senior member of the ‘Ndrangheta crime syndicate, based in Calabria. Among the seized properties were two villas on the Amalfi Coast, a Lamborghini Urus and a Ferrari 488, along with stakes in a construction firm and a luxury hotel group. The SFO confirmed that it had provided intelligence to Italian authorities, identifying a London-based shell company used to transfer funds into the UK property market.
“This is a significant step in choking the financial oxygen that fuels organised crime across Europe,” said a spokesperson for the SFO. “We urge all EU member states to implement a coordinated asset freeze regime to prevent these networks from exploiting legal loopholes.” The SFO’s call for an EU-wide freeze comes as the UK’s post-Brexit participation in Eurojust and the European Arrest Warrant is limited, forcing reliance on bilateral cooperation.
The ‘Ndrangheta, based in the southern region of Calabria, is considered one of the most powerful organised crime groups in the world, with an estimated annual turnover of €50 billion. Its activities span cocaine trafficking, illegal waste disposal and infiltration of public procurement. Italian prosecutors have often complained that assets moved into UK real estate, which has weaker anti-money laundering checks, are difficult to confiscate.
Under the SFO’s Asset Recovery Division, the UK has seized properties in London’s Knightsbridge and Mayfair districts bought by Italian mafia associates over the past decade. However, the pace of recovery remains slow. “This seizure sends a clear message that laundered money will be traced and recovered,” said SFO Director Lisa Osofsky. “But we need a harmonised European approach to match the sophistication of these networks.”
Italy’s DIA noted that the suspect, who was not named, had used a network of shell companies registered in Malta and the Netherlands to disguise ownership of the assets. The EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), established in 2022, is expected to begin direct supervision of the bloc’s riskiest financial institutions this year, but experts say it will take years to detect and block all illicit flows.
The operation follows a broader push by Rome to seize criminal wealth, with confiscations reaching €1.5 billion in 2023, up 11% from the previous year. Yet, only a fraction of that sum is ever recovered from foreign jurisdictions. The Guardian reported last year that the ‘Ndrangheta had invested an estimated £6 billion in UK real estate since 2000.
“The SFO’s call is timely,” said Prof. Anna Sergi, a mafia expert at the University of Essex. “Italy’s asset recovery machinery is the best in Europe, but it is hamstrung when the money leaves its borders. Without a collective freeze, the UK becomes a safe haven for criminal capital.”
European Commission officials have acknowledged the need for tighter controls. A spokesperson said the EU would “consider the UK’s request as part of ongoing negotiations on a new anti-money laundering package”. The SFO has already shared a list of 30 suspected mafia-associated properties in London with Italian prosecutors for further investigation.
For now, the seized villas on the Amalfi Coast will be handed over to Italy’s National Agency for the Administration and Destination of Seized Assets, which is expected to convert them into social housing or tourist facilities. The cars will be auctioned, with proceeds directed to the state’s criminal compensation fund.
The operation is a rare public example of Italy and the UK working together on organised crime. However, without an EU-wide asset freeze, millions more may still escape the net.
