For years, Slovakia has grappled with the lingering ghosts of corruption, opaque land deals, and unexplained fortunes. But a recent joint investigation by OCCRP member centers has reopened one of the country’s most sensitive wounds: the infiltration of alleged ’Ndrangheta-linked figures into its agricultural and business sectors. What began as the unfinished work of murdered investigative journalist Ján Kuciak has now evolved into a multilayered expose revealing how several Italian businessmen – some convicted, others under investigation – quietly built a presence in eastern Slovakia.

At the center of the story sits Antonino Vadalà, a name already familiar to Slovaks due to his indirect role in the political crisis that shook the nation in 2018. Though once suspected of involvement in a fraudulent EU subsidies scheme, Vadalà has now been definitively convicted in Italy for cocaine trafficking carried out as part of a criminal organization tied to the powerful ’Ndrangheta mafia. Yet the renewed investigation shows that Vadalà was never alone: at least two more Italians with mafia-linked backgrounds established businesses in the same Slovak region where Vadalà once operated.

The findings shed new light on how organized crime networks, especially Italy’s notorious Calabrian mafia, have long sought quiet footholds across Central and Eastern Europe – taking advantage of lax oversight, weak enforcement, and lucrative EU funds.

To understand the relevance of the new findings, one must revisit 2018, when Slovakia was plunged into turmoil. Ján Kuciak, a 27-year-old reporter for Aktuality.sk, was investigating misuse of agricultural subsidies, suspicious land ownership structures, and alleged mafia infiltration. His reporting pointed to connections between Italian businessmen in eastern Slovakia and individuals close to then-Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government.

Before he could publish his findings, Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, were murdered. The killings triggered the largest protests in Slovakia since the Velvet Revolution and ultimately forced Fico to resign. Although Fico was never implicated in the murders, Kuciak’s posthumous article exposed the alleged links between Vadalà and political insiders.

Vadalà was briefly detained after the murders but was released within 48 hours. Despite being referenced in Kuciak’s investigations, Slovak authorities did not pursue further charges related to the murders or the corruption allegations. Instead, developments would unfold back in Italy, where his criminal portfolio was far more extensive.

According to documents obtained by IrpiMedia and the Investigative Center of Ján Kuciak (ICJK), Vadalà was convicted in Italy in October 2024 for cocaine trafficking. His crime was neither an isolated act nor minor: he was part of a criminal organization linked directly to the ’Ndrangheta, Italy’s most powerful mafia syndicate and a global leader in the cocaine trade.

His name had already surfaced in the early 2010s when Slovak police, alerted to suspicious agricultural business deals, started looking into EU subsidy fraud. In 2013, Slovak police opened an investigation focusing on the misuse of funds from the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy. The local liaison officer in Rome sought assistance from the Italian Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate (DIA). The DIA responded with a revealing assessment: Vadalà frequently returned to Bova Marina, his hometown in Calabria, where he “associates with convicted criminals and prominent figures in organized crime.”

Slovak police records described how Vadalà allegedly purchased “several agricultural cooperatives” using non-repayable loans provided through EU subsidy programs. Investigators believed that he used artificially inflated property values as collateral – a classical scheme for siphoning EU agricultural funds.

But it remains unclear whether the 2013 investigation ever led to prosecutorial action. Reports in 2018 suggested that Vadalà was charged in Slovakia as part of the subsidies fraud scandal, yet there is no clarity on whether those charges stemmed from the earlier investigative work or from more recent inquiries.

In March 2018, just weeks after Kuciak’s murder, Vadalà was extradited to Italy on drug trafficking charges. Slovakia later asked Italy to address the subsidy fraud allegations domestically. Italian courts, however, dismissed the case due to the statute of limitations. Thus, the only conviction that stands is his drug trafficking sentence – reaffirmed in 2024 after an initial retrial.

The new joint investigation has uncovered that Vadalà was not the only individual with mafia ties doing business in eastern Slovakia. Two other Italian nationals – each with a criminal footprint or mafia-linked investigation in Italy – quietly established companies in the same region.

The first man, Michelangelo Rodi, was indicted in Italy in 2025 for tax evasion in a case tied to the ’Ndrangheta. Italian media described the probe as involving financial schemes benefiting mafia-connected networks. Slovak corporate records show he opened a freight transport company in Beša in 2024 – the same village where the Vadalà family’s agricultural operations were located. Rodi could not be reached by journalists.

Although no criminal charges have been filed against him in Slovakia, his presence raises clear red flags, particularly given the transport industry’s vulnerability to money laundering and illicit logistics networks.

The second man, Vincenzo D’Amico, has an even more direct mafia history. He was convicted in 2020 for helping an ’Ndrangheta clan launder money. Although an appeal is ongoing, the conviction remains on the record. Nevertheless, in 2022 – two years after the Italian conviction  D’Amico founded a new company in Slovakia: Sc Perlight.Sk, based in the town of Trebišov, only a short drive from Beša.

This proximity between mafia-linked Italian businessmen suggests that eastern Slovakia may have been quietly transforming into a small but strategic hub for individuals with criminal backgrounds seeking to embed themselves into EU markets.

Several reasons make Slovakia attractive to organized crime networks:

• EU Funds: Billions in agricultural subsidies flow into rural regions where oversight has historically been weak. Fraudulent cooperatives and inflated land valuations are common loopholes exploited by criminal groups.
• Low Business Barriers: Foreign nationals can easily register companies, and Slovakia’s corporate registry does not aggressively screen beneficial owners.
• Strategic Geography: Positioned between Eastern and Western Europe, Slovakia is an ideal logistics corridor – useful for both legitimate and illicit trade.
• Quiet, Rural Areas: Areas like Beša and Trebišov offer anonymity, low profile environments, and limited investigative resources.

These vulnerabilities, long known but rarely addressed, continue to attract figures with problematic backgrounds.

Six years after Kuciak’s murder, the new revelations represent a continuation of the investigation he began. They show that the infiltration of ’Ndrangheta-linked individuals into Slovakia was not an isolated event centered on Vadalà alone, but part of a broader pattern. While none of these discoveries automatically imply ongoing criminal activity on Slovak soil, they highlight structural weaknesses that organized crime groups can exploit.

The work of IrpiMedia and ICJK underscores an uncomfortable fact: even after political upheaval, mass protests, and vows to clean up corruption, Slovakia remains vulnerable to foreign mafia infiltration. Until systemic reforms close loopholes in subsidy distribution, corporate registration, and financial oversight, Slovakia will continue to attract individuals hoping to quietly build economic footholds far from Italian scrutiny.

Kuciak sought to bring transparency to these networks. Today, the renewed investigation honors that mission – reminding Slovakia that the shadows remain, and so must the vigilance.

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