The sister-in-law of an alleged Italian mafia boss is to be extradited to her homeland after being arrested in Malta.

Mariella Franchini, 57, from Bari, was arrested in Msida on the strength of a European Arrest Warrant and did not contest her extradition when she was taken to court on Monday.

The arrest was made in a joint operation by the Italian and Maltese authorities as part of a crackdown on a money laundering network that handled some €650 million for the mafia, police Inspector Mark Galea informed the court.

Assisted by legal aid lawyer Marita Pace Dimech, the woman consented to her extradition to face proceedings in Italy.

Magistrate Joe Mifsud remanded her in custody pending her extradition to Italy.

Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported that the arrest came about after Italian authorities cracked down on a mafia-linked online gambling network that would allegedly launder its proceeds “through a series of companies based in tax havens (Malta, Curacao, Virgin Islands).”

The main company involved was reported to be Centurionbet Ltd, tied to the Martiradonna family, which the Italian press said “operated a pyramidal structure and a series of computer platforms that collected bets mainly in Italy. At the top of the organization was Vito Martiradonna, said to be a 'mafia boss' and then a network of children, brothers, cousins, even the ‘aunt’ Mariella Franchini,