Corruption and illegal work in the heart of the Italian textile industry

The fatal shots on Zhang Dayong in Rome, which was found with six gunshot wounds, initially did not seem to have a connection to the Italian textile center Prato. Investigators: However, the murder now suspects that the murder is part of a brutal “ward war” between rival Chinese Mafia groups who are fighting for control over Europe’s largest clothing center. The escalation of violence is so serious that Prato’s prosecutor Luca Tescaroli has requested support from the anti-mafia unit in Rome. He points out that the conflict has already extended to France and Spain.

Mafia war escalated in Prato’s textile industry

According to Tucaroli, the influence of the mafia extends far beyond the control of logistics and goods traffic. The groups “promote the illegal immigration of workers: inside of different nationalities” to support the Pratos industry, which acts as a “complex economic system”. Tucaroli is convinced that the “phenomenon was underestimated”, which made it possible for the mafia to further expand its power. In the past few months there have been attacks on Chinese entrepreneurs in the city: inside and workers: inside, as well as arson attacks in warehouses.

The former head of the police investigative unit in Prato, Francesco Nannucci, told AFP that the Chinese mafia, which is also involved in illegal gambling, prostitution and drug trafficking, attempts to “control a large part of Europe” by obtaining dominance in Prato.

In particular, criminal clans who work in the fast fashion industry use the so-called “prato system”-a long-existing model, which is shaped by corruption and legislative gaps. It includes a network of around 5,000 mostly of Chines: subcontractors operated inside that produce inexpensive clothing for the European market. These workshops often avoid taxes and punishments by quickly closing and reopening the names, among other things. The profits are usually illegally transferred to China. The system is based on cheap workers that are available around the clock – mostly from China and Pakistan. According to reports, the workers deserve: only about three euros per hour inside. As the trade unionist Riccardo Tamorrino explains, Prato’s textile industry is “decoupled from all laws and contracts” – and “This is a secret for nobody.”

Corruption and a lack of implementation of the law tighten the situation

The so -called “clothing war war” is particularly about checking the last stage of the supply chain: the transport and shipping of the finished goods. This area was dominated by Zhang Naizhong for a long time, which was referred to in a court document from 2017 as “the leading figure in unscrupulous circles of the Chinese community of Europe”. The man murdered in Rome was considered his right hand. At his death, arson attacks followed in warehouses near Paris and Madrid. Zhang Naizhong, the alleged “godfather”, was acquitted in an important trial against the Chinese mafia in 2022 – a procedure that was according to reports of “numerous irregularities”.

Corruption and poor law enforcement have further tightened the situation. In May 2024, a deputy head of the Carabinieri in Prato was accused of illegally giving entrepreneurs: inside – including an official of the Chamber of Commerce – access to the police database in order to obtain information about workers: inside. A union representative, Francesca Ciuffi, told AFP that complaints from attacked workers: inside “disappear in the drawer and never end up in court”. The former mayor of Prato resigned in June in the course of corruption investigations. Trade unions recently enforced regular employment contracts for more than 70 companies, it is not enough to protect those that have come between the fronts of the ongoing mafia war.

As Ciuffi states: “People who go to work in the morning to make a living peacefully, risk being seriously injured or even killed by a war that does not affect them.”