IFPI Press Release, April 8, 1999
Record Industry Hails Italian Crackdown on Mafia Piracy Ring
London, April 8, 1999
The international recording industry today commended Italian police and public prosecutors after 14 Mafia members were arrested for their part in an international piracy ring stretching from Italy to Russia and south east Asia.
The crackdown comes after months of investigation by the fiscal and anti-Mafia police in cooperation with the organizations representing the Italian and the international recording industry, FIMI and IFPI. The arrests, which took place in Naples, involved members of an organization named "Quadrifoglio," which is close to the Camorra gang Contini. They have been charged with conspiracy, money laundering and promoting the Mafia.
The action is an important landmark in the fight against piracy in Italy, which has the second highest piracy rate in the European Union with illegal recordings accounting for some 20% of the total music retail market. In particular it shows the role of organized crime in music piracy, the overlap between piracy and other forms of crime and the growing internationalization of the pirate businesses.
Among other activities, the Quadrifoglio organization was involved in printing counterfeit money to pay for pirate CDs imported from Singapore, Greece and Russia. It also used the illegal proceeds of piracy to finance record companies producing local pop music.
IFPI's head of enforcement Iain Grant paid tribute to the work of the anti-Mafia public prosecutors, Luciano D'Angelo and Isabella Iaselli, who have issued arrest warrants.
Grant said: "This case shows many of the most serious aspects of piracy in Italy and further afield, such as the role of organized crime and the links with other forms of smuggling, laundering and counterfeiting. Italy's public prosecutors and police forces have produced a major success against the pirates, and this will have ramifications worldwide."
For further information contact:
Adrian Strain: 44 171 878 7939
Enzo Mazza, FIMI, Milan 00 39 02 795879