Italian police arrest mafia suspects on election meddling claims

The joint operation, which also involved police from Germany and Austria, centred on one clan within the 'Ndrangheta, Italy's most powerful and richest mafia, operating around the area of Crotone in Calabria.

Forty-three individuals, some German and Austrian, were arrested, said Europol, based in The Hague, which is tasked with helping EU members fight serious crime, including organised crime.

Police found that the group "was able to manipulate local elections in Calabria", Europol said in a statement, without giving further details.

"'Ndrangheta installed its members in crucial administrative and political positions in order to control and exploit the territory," it said, adding that "extortion and violence were part of the clan's modus operandi".

The 'Ndrangheta, which controls most of the cocaine supply entering Europe and operates in more than 40 countries, has proven challenging to eradicate for law enforcement, given its proven ability to infiltrate the legal economy and public institutions in Calabria and beyond.

Several high-profile investigations have revealed the 'Ndrangheta's close ties with influential politicians and public administrators at the local and regional levels.

Another recent anti-'Ndrangheta police sweep in May arrested 61 suspected members of the mafia in an area some 140 kilometres (85 miles) southwest of Crotone.

In the current case, Europol said the network managed to influence public tenders, "taking advantage of at least three million euros in European Union funds".

The suspects -- who include what Europol called "a key player" within the mafia hierarchy who ordered a 2014 murder -- are accused of setting up global money laundering schemes, helped by hackers from Germany.

"German hackers were able to defraud the banking system and operate in clandestine trading platforms in order to launder illicit assets," Europol said.

Funds were laundered through grocery stores, restaurants, gambling parlours and companies operating in the security, transportation, construction and real estate industries, it said.

Italian police said the clan's business interests extended to the northern Italian provinces of Parma, Milan and Verona, including trucking, construction and restaurant activities.

Some 16 companies, 25 properties and 15 vehicles, worth over 5 million euros ($5.5 million), were seized during the operation, Europol said.