Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Thursday that he cared "less than zero" about what Premier Giuseppe Conte told parliament on Wednesday.
Conte reported to the Senate after a probe was opened into allegations a person close to Salvini's League party discussed taking funding via oil kickbacks from Russia.
Former Salvini spokesman Gianluca Savoini is under investigation on suspicion of international corruption.
Conte told the Senate that Savoini was in Moscow on July 15-16 last year in Salvini's entourage and had never been employed as a government consultant. Savoini is alleged to have discussed Russian funding for the League in Moscow on October 18.
Salvini has so far failed to report to parliament about the case, saying that he does not need to talk about "fantasies" and that he has not taken a rouble from the Russians. He told Radio Anch'io that the probe "is looking for treasure that doesn't exist".
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