How do mafias operate across territories? The paper is an in-depth study of the foreign operations of a Russian mafia group. It relies on a unique set of data manually extracted from an extensive police investigation that lasted several years, including a set of phone intercepts over nine months. Using quantitative content analysis and multiple correspondence analyses (homals), the study reconstructs the activities of the group and its organizational structure in Italy. The paper shows that the core activity of the group––protecting racketeering––remains located in the territory of origin, while the Italian branch was monitoring investments in the legal economy. The structure of the group abroad indicates that a division of labour developed, alongside extensive contacts with local criminals and entrepreneurs. The paper contributes to broader debates on globalization and organized crime, moral panics, the structure of informal groups and the role of women in organized crime.
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