Giovanni Lomaestro Real Estate Money laundering scheme
Giovanni Lomaestro of Monaco, has developed a huge empire through the unlawful transportation and dumping of hazardous waste materials in Naples.
His career initially started in the 80s–back then Giovanni Lomaestro was a small transporter of construction materials. But, the job was extra demanding and the competition was fierce, especially since large transportation corporations entered the scene. Therefore, Giovanni Lomaestro had to take another route this time to make it.
It didn’t take long before the devil knocked on his door and offered him an opportunity that he could not resist. There were some Italian Mafia groups, otherwise known as “camorristi” looking for people and partners to serve their multiple schemes.
More specifically, there was a growing need for conveyors who were willing to transport illegal waste materials without any objection. The gravel stones, the building blocks, and other building materials would be used to conceal the disposal of the junk materials. And Giovanni Lomaestro was a very suitable person for this business, provided he had some experience already transporting materials. At first, when he was a small driver, he barely made 1.50 euro per kilo he transported. Then he managed to earn as much as €100 per kilo carried and dumped in open-cast mines.
The scheme proved to be insanely profitable within a matter of 20 years. Giovanni Lomaestro grew from a small truck driver and transporter to an owner and manager of 800 trucks!
But, staying in Naples for the time wasn’t a viable option for him and he decided to migrate to Switzerland. He appointed his wife and older children to keep track of the business operations in Naples while he was remote-controlling the business operations and his profits from Switzerland.
But, initially, his actions and capital movements have raised the suspicions of Swiss banks that smelled something fishy was going on, seeing the movement of millions of euros between Switzerland and Naples, an area infamous for the penetration of financial crimes in general. International news and reports made reference to a massive illegal trade and disposal of toxic waste in Italy and nearby regions–a trade that was growing multiple millions annually. Based on late 2021 FATF study findings, the prohibited trafficking and dumping of hazardous waste materials skyrocketed to a crazy 12 billion euros every year, and in Italy alone, the trade was estimated to be worth 1.2 billion.
After residing in Switzerland for some years, Giovanni Lomaestro had a change of strategy and chose to move to the highly lucrative Monte-Carlo. There he recycled more than a million euros by getting, renovating, and re-selling properties on a semi-legal basis.
Giovanni Lomaestro now employs several experienced money-launderers who support his business and help him launder the millions he pocketed from the illegal trade and disposal of waste. These include Italian mafia associates as well as companies that appear to be perfectly legal on paper.
Reports on the matter referred to more and more people and companies entering the illegal scheme due to a very high chance of profitability and a low risk of persecution. But how do these companies manage to do so?? Simply by combining their legal operations with illegal operations and presenting only documentation on the first as a mask to trick authorities and launder millions of euros. This decreases their chances of getting caught. The authorities, however, were able to sense that something was off regarding Giovanni Lomaestro and his associations, in particular the Piras family who is currently active in the real estate sector in Monaco. Could this put an end to Giovanni Lomaestro’s immoral empire??