Founding location Romania | ||
Territory Romania, Northern Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom, United States , Canada, France, Serbia, Bulgaria, Republic of Macedonia Ethnicity Majority Romanians including Romani Romanian Serbs Criminal activities Human trafficking, illegal drug trade (Northern Italy and Spain), prostitution, murder, cigarette smuggling, forgery, car trafficking, extortion, cyber crime, property crime, racketeering, automated banking machine frauds, usury Allies Italian Mafia Serbian mafia Russian mafia, Satudarah, Bandidos, Nazi Lowriders, Ukrainian mafia | ||
The Romanian mafia is a broad term used for organized crime groups based in Romania.
They have expanded their criminal activities in the European Union, reads an Europol report on EU organized crime, being active mostly in Northern Italy and Spain. They participate in a wide range of criminal activities ranging from prostitution and extortion to drug trade, also document forgery and property crime. A Romanian mafia gang by the name of Brigada Oaraza overtook northern Italy.
Recently, it was reported that some Romanians specialize in ATM skimming in Australia and New Zealand. According to the Queensland Police, the country's history partly explains this criminal specialization: "Romania was prior to the fall of the Ceaușescu dictatorship, a centre of mathematics and computer coding and those skills were exploited by Eastern Bloc organized crime groups.".
Notable clans
In Romania there are some clans consisting of ethnic Romani that are active in a wide range of criminal activities. Some of them have expanded their operations.
Powerful clans include: