Camorra swindle siphons EU farm funds as South's fraud stain persists

Police have dismantled a network accused of funnelling European agricultural funds into the pockets of the Camorra, the organised crime syndicate that dominates much of Campania, according to a report by the Spanish news agency EFE. The operation, which involved dozens of arrests, targeted a scheme that allegedly siphoned off millions of euros intended for rural development projects in the region.

The suspects are accused of creating shell companies to pose as legitimate farming businesses, a method that has long plagued the distribution of EU subsidies in southern Italy. The funds, part of the bloc's Common Agricultural Policy, are meant to support the region's agriculture, a sector that includes prized exports such as mozzarella di bufala and San Marzano tomatoes.