Our project ‘Mafias in Africa’ has unearthed an unprecendented amount of information regarding Italian organized crime’s influence in African economies. Most probably, what has been uncovered is just the tip of the iceberg. Yet, the tip is huge enough to allow at least a very partial estimation of the value of the largest empire, that of Vito Roberto Palazzolo, a.k.a. Robert Von Palace Kolbatshenko, currently detained in Milan for Mafia association, after having escaped justice for well over a decade.