Over 118,000 refugees have gone to Italy from Ukraine since the invasion of Russia in February.
To provide housing for the refugees, the Italian government decided to use over 600 properties that have been taken from criminal gangs including, apartments, mansions, viilas and hotels.
Luciana Lamorgese, Interior Minister, said the initiative will "guarantee hospitality to refugees leaving a theatre of war".
In 2021 alone, authorities seized €1.9 billion in assets from Italian crime bosses.
The assets seized are being managed by the National Agency for the Administration of Assets Confiscated from Organised Crime (ANBSC), which manages over 40,000 properties.
It is estimated that almost a third of the assets are located in Sicily. The ANBSC has announced that properties to be seized will also be used to house Ukrainian refugees.
Most of Ukrainian refugees entering the country live in the Italian regions of Lombardy, Lazio, Campania and Emilia-Romagna, with most traveling to the capitals of capitals of Milan, Rome, Naples and Bologna, respectively.
[Based on reporting by: The Local]
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