Three former executives of troubled
Italian bank Carige, including former chairman Giovanni
Berneschi, were put under house arrest on Thursday on suspicion
of involvement in a massive fraud scam, ANSA sources said.
The former CEO of the Carige Vita Nuova subsidiary,
Fernando Menconi, was also put under house arrest along with
Berneschi, the vice-president of Italian banking association
ABI, who stepped down from Carige last year.
Police said they believe the scam involved the acquisitions
at inflated prices of companies headed by accomplices which made
it possible for 21 million euros to be taken out of Italy into
Switzerland between 2006 and 2009.
They suspect that part of this money was used to buy
properties in Switzerland in the name of senior figures at
mid-sized lender Carige.
Finance police on Thursday acted on arrest warrants issued
against a total of seven people in relation to the probe, the
sources said.
Police were also conducting searches in the cities of
Genoa, Milan and La Spezia on Thursday and proceeding with an
order to seize around 22 million euros in assets as part of the
investigation.
The people under investigation are suspected of offences
including criminal association, aggravated fraud, money
laundering and fake registration of assets.
On Wednesday the banking foundation that controls the
Genoa-based bank Carige sold an 11% stake in the Italian bank,
well below the 15% it had planned, at a deep discount on
Wednesday, sending shares in the mid-sized lender down by almost
14%.
The banking foundation made the move ahead of
800-million-euro next month aimed to beef up its weak capital
base ahead of European Central Bank stress tests.
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