Deputy Premier and Transport and
Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini said Thursday he and his
partner Francesca Verdini are to take legal action in relation
to their alleged "inappropriate implication" in media reports
about a case of allegedly rigged contracts for motorway company
ANAS in which the latter's father, former Berlusconi ally Denis
Verdini, and her brother Tommaso have been placed under
investigation.
"I have the honour and the duty of taking on delicate
responsibilities, always in total independence, in the exclusive
interest of Italy to promote the unblocking, acceleration and
planning of public works that have been at a standstill for
years," said Salvini.
"To be implicated inappropriately in matters I know nothing
about is no longer tolerable," he continued.
"The lawsuits are starting today, on my part and on the part of
my partner Francesca Verdini, who like me has been involved for
no reason in several articles, with the commitment to donate to
charity all compensation that the slanderers will be ordered to
pay," concluded Salvini.
On Sunday Premier Giorgia Meloni's rightwing Brothers of Italy
(FdI) party on Sunday rallied around Salvini over claims he may
have been involved in the ANAS case.
"On the ANAS contracts there is an ongoing investigation which
began well before the current government took office, and which
does not involve Matteo Salvini, nor any other political figure,
so let's wait for developments", said FdI.
The opposition has called on Salvini, who is also the leader of
the right-wing government coalition partner League, to brief
parliament on the case, a call he has rejected.
Judicial sources said on Wednesday that Tommaso Verdini, his
business partner Fabio Pileri and other suspects had availed
themselves of the right not to answer during questioning by a
preliminary investigations judge in Rome.
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