A mafia network in Sicily that embezzled around €10 million of EU funds intended for farmers has been dismantled, Italian police announced on Wednesday 15 January.
Among those arrested were two heads of Mafia families, a notary, entrepreneurs and public officials responsible for accessing these funds.
The European Commission has indicated that it takes the fight against fraud and corruption in the use of EU funds “very seriously” and that a policy of “zero tolerance” is applied.