A number of people were taken to
jail or put under house arrest in dawn raids in Rome on Tuesday
in an operation by anti-mafia investigators to bust an alleged
ring involved in loan sharking and money laundering, ANSA
sources said. Victims, who were forced to annual interest rates
of between 70% and 150%, included politicians, shop keepers and
other individuals in economic difficulty, sources said. The
victims were threatened and intimidated. The suspects are
accused of criminal association for usury and money laundering.
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