Italy tourism minister sent for trial in false accounting case

Visibilia Editore SpA

17/01/2025 12:34

MILAN, Jan 17 (Reuters) - An Italian judge has ordered
Tourism Minister Daniela Santanche to stand trial on false
accounting charges at a publishing group she used to own,
judicial and legal sources said on Friday.
    Judge Anna Magelli, at the end of a closed-door hearing,
scheduled the start of the trial for the minister and 15 other
co-defendants for March 20 in a Milan court.
    Santanche has denied any wrongdoing.
    The case could embarrass Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who
has so far defended the embattled minister and party colleague
against opposition calls for her resignation.
    Santanche, 63, is one of the most visible members of
Meloni's right-wing cabinet and is known for her brash,
outspoken style.
    Milan prosecutors accused Santanche and her co-defendants of
falsifying financial statements at the Visibilia publishing and
advertising group during the period 2016-2022.
    Visibilia Editore  VE.MI , Visibilia Editrice and one of the
initially 16 other defendants have agreed a settlement.
    "It is a decision that we expected but that leaves a bitter
taste in our mouths", Santanche's lawyer Nicolo Pelanda said,
adding that he was confident the court would establish his
client's innocence.
    The Visibilia group press office was not immediately
reachable for a comment.
    Milan prosecutors had requested a first trial against the
minister last May over alleged benefit fraud at Visibilia during
the COVID pandemic.
    However, the minister's lawyer objected that the territorial
jurisdiction of that case should be in Rome. Italy's top court
will decide on Jan. 29 whether those separate proceedings will
continue in Milan or will have to start again in Rome.
    Santanche has also denied wrongdoing in the alleged benefit
fraud case.
    She served as chair and CEO of Visibilia until November 2021
and remained a major shareholder until 2022 when she joined the
government and sold her stake in the company.  

 (Reporting by Emilio Parodi
Editing by Crispian Balmer and Gareth Jones)
 ((emilio.parodi@thomsonreuters.com; +39 06 8030 7744))