Italian refuse company's Malta assets frozen

The seizures were ordered by Magistrates in Milan and were executed by the Guardia di Finanza (tax police) in connection to investigations into defaulting refuse contractors in the Neapolitan region.

Prosecuting magistrates Michaela Serena Curami, Luigi Orsi and Sergio Spadaro have reportedly ordered the preventative arrest of five men, allegedly the directors in three companies that have benefitted from a total of €50 million over a number of years to administer the refuse collection and its distribution in landfills on behalf of a number of councils around the Neapolitan area.

Over the past weeks, thousands of tonnes of refuse has remained uncollected around the Neapolitan region, as contracting companies allegedly connected to the Camorra stopped their operations in a bid to up their pressure on the regional government to gain more control of the lucrative sector.