‘Ndrangheta in the North: how its roots change from region to region The Anti-Mafia Commission’s report photographs seven territories and as many models: from Emilian companies to Ligurian ports, up to money laundering and the silent presence in local markets. The common thread is a ‘Ndrangheta that changes strategy without losing ties with its origins.
The report of Parliamentary anti-mafia commission on the ‘ndrangheta in northern Italy, approved on 3 November 2026, describes seven territories and as many forms of presence. In Emilia-Romagna the attention is concentrated on businesses, in Liguria on ports and traffic, in Lombardy on financial circuits. Elsewhere the weight of traditional structures, the vulnerability of small contexts or entry into limited production sectors emerge. The phenomenon changes from one region to another, but retains a common trait: the ability to adapt to markets without severing ties with the Calabria. Families, ‘ndrine and locals continue to guarantee cohesion and internal recognition. Outside the areas of origin, however, the organization can act through companies, figureheadprofessionals, false invoicing, tax fraud, subcontracts And recycling. Violence is not the only sign of its presence: it can remain in the background, as a reputation or implicit pressure, while affairs pass through relationships that seem ordinary.
Emilia-Romagna: entry into businesses
In Emilia-Romagna the Commission highlights its roots in the productive economy. The ‘Ndrangheta can enter companies and supply chains through relationships with local entrepreneursprofessionals and intermediaries. Among the tools recalled are fake invoices and paper companies, used to move money and build economic relationships. The risk also concerns formally legal companies which, to obtain liquidity or overcome a difficulty, agree to collaborate with mafia entities. An agreement that appears immediately convenient can alter competition: those who have illicit capital or services can reduce prices, obtain orders or resist longer than competitors who respect the rules. To identify these dynamics it is necessary to follow the supply chains, verify fiscal and corporate anomalies and reconstruct the relationships between companies and intermediaries.
Lombardy: financial circuits and collaborations
In Lombardyespecially in the Milan area, the economy and finance offer a complex picture. The report mentions money laundering, money flows, real estate and commercial markets and contacts with Italian and foreign criminal groups. Another aspect concerns the possible collaboration between organizations of different origins. The Commission cites the procedure Hydra as a useful case to illustrate this dimension, specifying that the events are still being examined by the judiciary: the investigative hypotheses do not constitute definitive findings. Distinct groups can cooperate when sharing contacts, skills or opportunities increases profits. Investigations into criminal structures must therefore be accompanied by the analysis of assets, companies and financial movements. Activities that, taken individually, seem normal can reveal another meaning when considered as a whole.
Piedmont: the continuity of ties
In Piedmont the traditional organizational elements are particularly visible: the clubs, the connections with the Calabrian gangs and the relationship between operational autonomy in the territories of settlement and recognition of a center of legitimation in the areas of origin. This continuity does not prevent changing activities. Here too ‘ndrangheta can use economic and professional tools to enter the markets and shield their interests. The entrepreneurial dimension should therefore not be separated from the organizational relationships that support it: reading an operation as a simple business can prevent us from grasping its broader links.
Valle d’Aosta: the networks of small territories
There Aosta Valley shows that the mafia presence does not depend only on the size of the market or the presence of large infrastructures. In small territories, social, economic and institutional relations are close. This can make it easier to blend in and more difficult to distinguish usual relationships from those capable of influencing economic life. Even the belief that one is not very exposed can delay attention to the first signs. The Commission invites us to observe concentrations of interests, opaque relationships, anomalies in companies and forms of pressure that are not accompanied by explicit threats. The small size does not automatically protect; in certain conditions they favor persistent and difficult to recognize relationships.
Liguria: ports and international traffic
In Liguria the ports of call Genoa, I’m going Ligurian And La Spezia they connect the regional economy to international trade. They are important nodes for legal trade, but can also be used by networks involved in drug trafficking and other transnational activities. The Commission recalls the presence of different groups and the relationships between Calabrian organisations, foreign groups and operators of the logistics chains. To rebuild the functioning of trade, it is not enough to concentrate on a single organization or a single port. It is necessary to follow the passage of goods, intermediation services and contacts between logistics operators and criminal networks. The international dimension makes the timely exchange of information and cooperation between authorities necessary.
Veneto: presence within the market
In Veneto the ‘Ndrangheta can exploit a productive fabric made up of small and medium-sized enterprises, complex supply chains and trust relationships. Formally legitimate companies, fictitious headers, figurehead And illicit capital they can allow for gradual insertion: you enter the business, you get to know the market and its interlocutors, then you use the relationships built to launder money or consolidate your presence. Here too, companies in difficulty can become vulnerable to those offering liquidity. The risk is that criminal intervention is mistaken for a normal commercial relationship, while it serves to shield capital or distort competition. The report therefore calls for the verification of the beneficial ownership of the companies, the consistency between financial flows and declared activities and the nature of the relationships between companies.
Trentino-Alto Adige: entry into specific sectors
In Trentino-Alto Adige the settlement described by the Commission is selective and concentrated in certain sectors. The porphyry sector, recalled through the Perfido operation, shows how a single activity can become a point of rooting. It is not necessary to openly control an entire territory to build a presence: you can intervene in a sector, exploit consolidated business and social relationships and appear as a normal economic interlocutor. Underestimating the risk can delay the emergence of the phenomenon. Signs to watch out for include anomalies in companies, inconsistent financial availability, concentration of relationships in one sector and alterations to competition.
Different strategies, a common problem
The comparison returns a complex geography. In Emilia-Romagna insertion into businesses emerges; in Lombardy financial complexity and cooperation between groups; in Piedmont the continuity of traditional structures. In Aosta Valley the networks of small contexts have an impact, in Liguria the ports and international traffic, in Veneto the camouflage of production and in Trentino-Alto Adige the penetration into specific sectors. What unites these forms is the ability to transform criminal ties in economic relationships. It is in this space that the so-called gray area develops, where mafia subjects come into contact with entrepreneurs, professionals and intermediaries. The collaboration can offer liquidity or other advantages to those who accept it; at the same time, it allows the organization to translate its strength into seemingly regular corporate, fiscal and commercial operations. The Commission indicates a common response in principles, but calibrated on the characteristics of the territories. We need controls on companies, supply chains, contracts and subcontracts; analysis of assets and financial flows; checks on logistics networks and attention to initial signals. Prevention must accompany criminal investigations and involve prosecutors’ offices, prefectures, police forces, Financial police, Anti-mafia investigative directoratelocal authorities and supervisory authorities. The report collects hearings, missions and judicial events examined by the Commission: it does not claim to offer a definitive mapping of the mafia presence. However, it indicates a precise direction. To counter the ‘Ndrangheta in the North, it is also necessary to rebuild the economic relationships, the illicit services and the operations that allow it to enter the markets and, little by little, to appear part of their normal functioning.
