Where do you go when you have a legitimate business that can’t get credit from a bank? The mafia, says the Bank of Italy.

From Bloomberg:

“The crisis has given organized crime room to thrive because access to credit has become more difficult,” said Anna Maria Tarantola, the central bank’s deputy general director, in a July 12 interview in her Rome office. “Whoever holds large amounts of cash, like crime groups, can make investments that aren’t possible for others. They can now invest in fully legal businesses.”

Bloomberg says the mafia is excited to invest in legit businesses that it can use as a funnel to hide its illegal cash.

Mafia Money-Laundering Profits Swell in Credit Crisis [Bloomberg]

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