The Italian Mafia is selling investment bonds

The Ndrangheta mafia of southern Italy has a deal that you cannot refuse.

Investors around the globe were buying bonds backed by a notorious mafia in Italy for four years, The Financial Times reported, citing financial and legal documents.

The report said an estimated €1 billion in private bonds backed by front companies charged with working for the Calabrian ’Ndrangheta mafia group were bought by global investors between 2015 and 2019.

These bonds were bought by pension funds, hedge funds, family offices as well as Banca Generali — one of the biggest private banks in Europe — the FT reported.

Imagine that. Organized crime and high finance working together.
Selling investment bonds based on criminal activity.

That means that at some point someone thought, "hey, you know who would like to get in on the action of strong arm robbery of Syrian refugees? Hedge fund managers."

That means that somewhere in the Netherlands or France some public school pension fund is taking a cut on sex trafficking of underage girls.

That means that somewhere in Europe some church is probably holding part of a credit default swap on the earnings of an underground casino in Naples.

Someone actually sat down and thought about how to structure a business model on paper for dividing up the profits of the heroin traffic on Rome's street corners.

Someone thought this was a good idea!
It boggles the mind.

Then someone turned around and convinced an investment banker to package and sell this product.
It begs the question who is the real prostitute?.

That's almost like an international investment bank that was created to launder drug money actually laundering money for drug cartels.

That would be crazy. As crazy as a bankrupt company's stock increasing 825% and issuing more stock.

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The Liberal Moonbat's picture

Gesundheit.

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3 users have voted.

In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

lotlizard's picture

@The Liberal Moonbat  
(See gjohnsit’s other essay today about the shady primary in NJ.)

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lotlizard's picture

are leery of bailouts for southern European countries — the enduring impression of the Mediterranean region is one of an entrenched culture of corruption, ingrained over many generations and even centuries going all the way back to the Roman Empire. The government cheats the people and the people cheat the government, at every opportunity.

https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2012/0430/Greek-island-of-the-bli...

Not wanting to be yoked into shouldering responsibility for a mountain of debts incurred crookedly and criminally isn’t racism or nationalism — it’s common sense.

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Still, how can you tell them from Goldman Sachs?

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

@The Voice In the Wilderness

how can you tell them from Goldman Sachs?

Wall Street, white-collar crime, and organized crime are getting closer and closer to the point that the edges are blurring.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Cosa Nostra has their own offices on Wall Street

If it's calabrian it's not mafia

Sure it is. It's just a different group. Not all mafia is Sicilian.

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@gjohnsit
Tell that to my grandmother! Smile

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

The Liberal Moonbat's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness That's easy: The mafia has a sense of ethics.

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6 users have voted.

In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

@The Liberal Moonbat

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.