RAI's board on Wednesday
discussed an investigative report broadcast this week on alleged
links between Matteo Salvini's League party and Russian funding,
sources said.
Board members Igor De Biasio and Giampaolo Rossi, who were
nominated by the League and the rightwing Brothers of Italy
(FdI) party respectively, accused the 'Report' show of breaching
electoral rules ahead of this weekend's regional government vote
in Umbria.
This argument was rejected by Rita Borioni, who was nominated
by the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), and Riccardo Laganà,
representing employees, who said the show was simply exercising
freedom to report the news.
PD leader Nicola Zingaretti said no one should censor Report
and that "freedom of expression must be defended in the public
broadcaster".
Former Salvini spokesman Gianluca Savoini is under
investigation in relation to allegations he discussed taking
funding via oil kickbacks from Russia at an October meeting at
Moscow's Metropol hotel.
Italian newsweekly L'Espresso and US news site Buzzfeed
reported that Savoini and two other Italians met three Russians
in the Moscow hotel to discuss siphoning off an alleged 65
million dollars from oil profits.
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