(see related)
A current and former top
manager of Italy's Veneto Banca have been placed under
investigation in a probe into alleged obstruction of
oversight by the unlisted cooperative lender, judicial sources
said Tuesday.
Vincenzo Consoli, former Veneto Banca chief executive and
now director general, and former chairman Flavio Trinca were
named as being among the suspects in the investigation.
Meanwhile, tax police searched the cooperative bank's
headquarters in Montebelluna in Italy's northern Veneto region
and the homes of other managers and shareholders as part of the
probe.
Investigators said in total 16 shareholders were searched
on suspicion of receiving allegedly large sums of money over a
period of time.
Veneto Banca is one of the 10 cooperative, or 'popolari'
banks that will be affected by a government decree that will
dramatically change their ownership structures.
It was also one of the Italian banks that failed stress
tests conducted late last year by the European Central Bank
(ECB).
Meanwhile, Rome prosecutors announced they were
investigating Veneto Banca for allegedly granting loans without
proper safeguards leading to losses of more than 192 million
euros.
The inquiry came after concerns were raised by the Bank of
Italy, investigators said.
Last week, Veneto Banca announced losses for 2014 of 650
million euros after balance-sheet cleansing, part of which
resulted from the ECB's asset quality review.
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