Forza Italia (FI) Senator
Denis Verdini, a top aide of ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi, was
among several people to receive end-of-investigation notices on
Tuesday in relation to a probe into fraudulent bankruptcy
stemming from the failure of a Tuscan publishing company earlier
this year.
Verdini was placed under investigation as major shareholder
and de facto manager of Società Toscana di Edizioni (STE),
publisher of the Giornale della Toscana until it was declared
bankrupt in February 2014.
Other suspects include FI Tuscan regional coordinator
Massimo Parisi, an MP, and other former STE executives.
The suspects face possible charges of "acts of
misappropriation" of resources allegedly leading to the
bankruptcy of STE, among other things.
This is not Verdini's first brush with justice this year.
In July, the FI coordinator was sent to trial in connection
with the administration of the Credito Cooperativo Fiorentino
(CCF) bank of which he was chairman until 2010.
In that case, Verdini must answer to charges of criminal
association, fraudulent bankruptcy and embezzlement in relation
to loans worth around 100 million euros allegedly granted to
"people close" to him without following the necessary
procedures.
In September, Verdini was indicted for alleged wrongdoing
in the sale of a property in central Rome.
And earlier this month he was sent to trial for alleged
involvement in a secret cabal, the so-called P3, that allegedly
sought to condition some State bodies, and for alleged
corruption in contracts for the construction of a military
academy in Florence, as the result of two separate probes.
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