Corsican authorities broaden crackdown on organized crime to include ‘white-collar’ collaborators
The French judiciary is preparing tougher measures against organized crime in Corsica. Investigators are no longer focusing solely on violent mafia members, but are extending their attention to businesspeople, lawyers, financiers, and other professionals suspected of helping criminal groups infiltrate the legal economy.
Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone refers to this group as the “criminal bourgeoisie.” These are individuals who may not commit violent acts themselves, but according to investigators, provide logistical, financial, or social support to those involved in organized crime.
Justice goes beyond street crime
Nicolas Bessone leads the Marseille judicial structure handling the most significant cases connected to Corsican organized crime.
In his view, investigating only murders, extortion, or drug trafficking is not enough.
Key players in mafia operations often include people in the legitimate economy, enabling the flow of money, book deals, or providing social contacts for criminal groups.
This layer of support is now a top priority for French justice authorities.
New law expands investigative tools
A legislative change introduced in June 2025 is aiding investigators.
The new law established the crime of participation in a criminal organization, allowing prosecution of those who have not been directly proven to participate in violent acts.
This enables investigators to target suspects providing financial, logistical, or organizational support.
However, each individual case must be backed by evidence, and the court alone decides on guilt.
Case files include business leaders and public figures
According to available information, French investigators repeatedly encounter figures who appear to be outside of the criminal world in cases linked to Corsican organized crime.
These include businesspeople, lawyers, notaries, construction figures, artists, sports officials, and other public personalities who have appeared in various cases.
Mere association with people from the criminal sphere is not automatically evidence of wrongdoing.
The new approach, prosecutors say, aims to distinguish between ordinary personal relationships and conscious support for organized crime.
The Petit Bar case exposes networks
A telling example was the proceedings involving the Petit Bar group from Ajaccio.
The investigation extended not only to individuals directly linked to organized crime, but also financiers, lawyers, and real estate professionals.
The prosecution argued that mafia structures can thrive due to their connections with the legal economy.
However, in some instances the court differentiated between criminal assistance and non-criminal services or personal relationships, which by themselves were not sufficient to prove guilt.
French justice authorities hope new investigative practices will help them better draw this line in future cases.
Corsican mafia’s economic reach
French authorities now pay special attention to money laundering and investments derived from criminal activity.
Investigators are scrutinizing real estate, construction, hospitality, public contracts, and other sectors where legal earnings may mingle with funds of questionable origin.
In Haute-Corse, dedicated teams are already targeting money laundering and suspected violations in public contracts.
This effort has resulted in the opening of more than a dozen criminal investigations, now handled by authorities in Bastia, Marseille, and Paris.
Similar investigations into links between organized crime and financial motives are underway elsewhere in France. For example, after a bombing in Monaco, multiple possible motives—including organized crime—were investigated.
Audits target restaurants and public contracts
The new strategy goes beyond reviewing old cases.
Authorities have begun to organize comprehensive audits of businesses and their financial networks.
In Calvi, this included checks on bars and restaurants to examine the nature of their supplier relationships.
In one Bastia case, investigators found records of approximately €70,000 in allegedly undeclared beverage orders from a distribution company.
However, even such findings require standard investigation, and the discovery alone does not automatically prove mafia involvement.
Mapping public contracts since 2022
One of the new tools is an extensive database mapping all public contracts made in Corsica since 2022.
This allows investigators to compare winners of tenders, contract amendments, final prices, and the status of companies in different regions.
The aim is to make it easier to detect unusual monopolies, significant price increases, or possible illegal agreements between companies.
Still, these economic signs do not automatically constitute criminal wrongdoing. Additional proof is always required.
France establishes new anti-mafia bodies
The French system for combatting organized crime has undergone significant changes in recent years.
In 2025, a national prosecutor’s office specializing in the fight against organized crime was established, and a regional anti-crime unit began operating in Bastia.
The goal is to improve information exchange among police, prosecutors, tax authorities, and other agencies.
French prosecutors believe sharing information is key to uncovering the economic base of organized crime.
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French justice authorities are trying to change how Corsican mafia is perceived—not just as groups of armed criminals, but as a system exploiting connections in business, finance, and public life.
Proving deliberate cooperation between the legal world and organized crime remains among the hardest challenges. The new strategy’s success depends on whether investigators can turn suspicions into courtroom-ready evidence.
This article was translated from the original Slovak version with the assistance of AI.
