Milan prosecutors have opened a probe into Transport Undersecretary Armando Siri's acquisition of an apartment building in Bresso, in the province of Milan, sources said on Monday. No one is under investigation at the moment, the sources said. Siri, a member of the rightwing League party, is said to have bought the building with a 585,000-euro mortgage from a San Marino bank.
The undersecretary is under investigation in a separate corruption case that has caused considerable tension within Premier Giuseppe Conte's coalition government. Deputy Premier, Interior Minister and League leader Matteo Salvini has defended Siri, who denies any wrongdoing. But the League's coalition partner, the anti-graft 5-Star Movement (M5S), has pressed hard for Siri's resignation. Conte has said he will be propose the undersecretary's removal at the next cabinet meeting, which is set to take place on Wednesday.
Salvini said Monday that he was not worried about the Siri corruption case.
"I am perfectly tranquil about going to the cabinet meeting," Salvini said.
"I am updating the agenda on immigration and the mafia. That is what I deal with.
"I continue to think that, in a civilized country, trials are held in court and a judge condemns someone if they are guilty, not a newspaper". Fellow Deputy Premier and M5S leader Luigi Di Maio, however, reiterated his demand for Siri to go.
"The most important thing is to remove this undersecretary, who is casting a shadow over the government," Di Maio, who is also labour and industry minister, told State broadcaster RAI.
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