Italian police on Thursday arrested
seven people who were allegedly part of a usury ring in Rome.
Police said the two alleged ringleaders practised annual
interest rates on their loans of between 150% and 500%.
They allegedly turned the screws most tightly during the
March-May COVID lockdown, police said.
A probe lasting from March 2019 to June 2020 established that
the alleged ring gave out hundreds of loans to people in
economic difficulty, especially businesspeople.
The victims who were unable to make their interest payments were
threatened with reprisals to persuade them to put together the
money demanded, police said.
The seven have been variously charged with usury, extortion,
drug trafficking, money laundering, issuance of invoices on
non-existent transactions and illegal exercise of credit.
Surveys have shown that usury and loansharking have increased
significantly in Italy during the COVID pandemic.
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