Alaco

26.09.2013 | Corsican kingpins

Despite promises of police reinforcements in the region by the end of the year, Corsica, France’s Ile de beaute, retains the highest murder rate per capita in Europe.

This has a lot to do with the island’s home-grown mafia, or “milieu corse”, a myriad of highly evolved criminal networks implicated in underworld activities stretching from the PACA (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur) region of southeast France, across West Africa, and as far afield as South America.  Despite the diminutive size of Corsica which boasts a population of only 310,000, the milieu corse and its diaspora are far from homogenous.  Clans were formed dependent on village or family ties, and wage war or act in concert with one another depending on their political and business interests.   Dialects are also a differentiator, often functioning as coded languages during criminal operations. 

The origins of the milieu corse are rooted in the agricultural crises that gripped the island in the 19th century.  These led to waves of immigration across France and her colonies, with clans building up “specialisms” in areas such as gambling or sex and drug trafficking.  During the first half of the 20th century, the milieu corse was instrumental in heroin trafficking from Indochina and Turkey to the US and Canada, known as the ‘French Connection’ until the 1970s when the Sicilian-American mafia took over the racket.  Michel Tomi, seen by many as the last “authentic” Corsican godfather, continues to control numerous businesses across West Africa with his son, Jean-Baptiste.  Their Kabi Group of companies is active primarily in the nightclub and gambling sectors, with interests in casinos, slot machines, national lottery and horse betting as well as real estate.

The milieu corse and its complex networks are also known to have links to other criminal groups.  A number of years ago it came to light that Sicillian Mafioso Lillo Lauricella, who was shot dead in Caracas on 30th October 2002, had laundered millions in South Corsica in the 1980s and 1990s.

Back home, in April 2013 the French Interior Ministry labelled the island’s criminal networks a “State priority” following the murder of the Mayor of Letia, Jean-Luc Chiappini, in an assassination alleged to have been carried out by the mafia.  Yet of the 100 plus assassinations in Corsica since 2007, less than 10% have resulted in a conviction.  As reported by L’Express in their September article, France is still awaiting the formalisation of the so-called “repentis” legislation agreed in 2004, intended to encourage informants and long-heralded as a key weapon in the fight against organised crime.  It is expected, finally, by the end of this year.