League to appeal fund ruling this week

(ANSA) - Rome, September 10 - The League said Monday that it will file an appeal within days against last week's ruling by a Genoa court giving the all clear from prosecutors to seize the funds of the rightwing party in relation to a fraud case. "By the end of the week we'll present an appeal," Giovanni Ponti Conti, one of the party's lawyers, told reporters in Milan.
    The seizure relates to convictions handed down to former League leader Umberto Bossi, former treasurer Francesco Belsito and three ex auditors.
    They were found guilty of fraud against the State estimated at 49 million euros between 2008 and 2010 for irregularities in electoral spending reimbursements.
    The ruling sparked an angry reaction from the party's leader, Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini, who in one interview said the group was the victim of political justice like in Turkey. The fraud dates back to before took over the helm of the party.