ROME, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- A report by Italy's largest business trade group, Confesercenti, says the Mafia is the country's largest business and it's biggest bank.
The report, titled SOS Enterprise, says the Mafia has $83 billion in liquidity, ANSA reported Tuesday.
The report by the trade group that represents 270,000 businesses says loan sharking has become "a national emergency."
"According to our estimates, loan sharking has caused the closure of 1,800 businesses and destroyed thousands of jobs," Confesercenti President Marco Venturi said.
"Merchants are the most exposed to the phenomenon and around 200,000 are victims of usury," he said.
"We should never forget that the crisis is useful for organized crime, which influences the legitimate economy and floods the illegal economy with both production and sale of illegal goods," Venturi said.
