Raffaele Imperiale, the drug trafficker who stole two Van Goghs, gives Italy an island in Dubai

An Italian drug trafficker, linked to organized crime, has given Italy an artificial island located in front of the city of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, during a trial in which he is accused of importing more than 7 million tons of cocaine into Europe. and laundering money.

The boss, called Raffaele Imperiale, was born on the outskirts of Naples and since his arrest in 2021 he decided to collaborate with Justice, opening a process in which he has already delivered two Van Gogh paintings and 1.8 million euros in cryptocurrencies to the state. .

The two Van Gogh canvases were located in his luxury villa in Dubai, where they ended up after being stolen from the Amsterdam museum dedicated to the famous painter.. The event led to Imperiale being nicknamed in the Italian press as “il boss dei Van Gogh” (the boss of the Van Goghs).

In addition, he recently handed over to the Italian State a loot in bitcoins equivalent to 1.8 million euros, which was seized by an investigating judge in Naples after a financial operation in which a cryptocurrency exchange platform was required.

The criminal's latest transfer is an artificial island, which is part of an artificial archipelago, whose name is Taiwan and which he acquired “for several million euros,” indicated Italian public television RAI.

According to the little information leaked from the investigations, Imperiale spent around 400,000 euros a month in Dubai to maintain his luxurious lifestyle, derived from a drug trafficking activity in which the 'Ndrangheta' mafia, originating in Calabria (south and Italy) and one of the most powerful in the world today.