The ex-president of mid-sized
Italian bank Carige was moved to full custody after breaching
conditions of his house arrest, authorities said Thursday.
Giovanni Berneschi, who is also vice-president of the
Italian Banking Association (ABI), was put under house arrest
one week earlier on suspicion of involvement in a massive fraud
scam at Italian bank Carige.
But his house arrest was revoked after he contravened
conditions that he was not to have contacts outside his home and
family, authorities said.
Prosecutors were reportedly concerned that that could lead
to a possible tampering with evidence.
Berneschi, who was Carige's president until last year, was
arrested along with the former chief executive officer of the
Carige Vita Nuova subsidiary, Fernando Menconi, and real-estate
businessman Ernesto Cavallini.
Police said they believe Berneschi, 77, was the ringleader
of a scam involving purchases made at inflated prices of stakes
in companies headed by accomplices, which allegedly 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
Carige, a mid-sized lender based in Genoa with about 1,000
branches and two million clients.
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