A court has ruled that millions of euros in assets can be seized from the far-right League party, now part of Italy’s ruling coalition. Party leader Matteo Salvini was defiant, saying the fraud was now history.
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Italy's right-wing Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini appeared to shrug off the news that a court had authorized the seizure of €49 million ($59 million) from the League party on Thursday.
"I'm not the least bit upset because the trial regards things that happened eight, nine years ago," Salvini said after an appeals court in Rome accepted demands from a court in Genoa to be able to seize whatever funds they can until the full amount is recouped.
"It is a thing of the past ... if they want to strip us of everything, they can go ahead, we'll calmly continue to do politics; we have Italians behind us."
Salvini: a polarizing figure
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Salvini, who has turned the party into a national political force since he took over in 2013, has repeatedly said that he has never seen the missing money.
"I hope that the Genoa court will spend more of its time on the matter of the collapsed bridge," Salvini said after the decision, referring to the Ponte Morandi disaster last month, which killed 43 people.
The money was embezzled between 2008 and 2010 from public funds to finance political parties. Former League Leader Umberto Bossi and a former party treasurer were both found guilty of the fraud last year, but the Genoa court that convicted them was only able to track down €3 million.
League lawyers insist the party only has €5.5 million, which comes from donations. Judicial sources say the other funds may have been moved abroad.
The League's popularity has soared since it formed a coalition government with the populist Five Star Movement in June, with Salvini — who also serves as interior minister — taking a tough line on immigration by refusing NGO migrant rescue ships access to Italian ports.
Italy's populist government: Key players
After months of negotiations, Italy finally has a government with Giuseppe Conte at the helm. Conte's swearing in ended weeks of turmoil that rocked financial markets, but concerns among Italy's EU partners remain.
Image: picture-alliance/ROPI
Conte: Novice at the helm
Giuseppe Conte, a little-known law professor with no political experience, was picked by the League and 5-Star Movement (M5S) as their candidate for prime minister. He was forced to temporarily give up his leadership bid after the parties' cabinet selection was initially blocked. However, after the two parties struck a deal with President Sergio Mattarella, Conte was eventually sworn in on June 1.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Lore
Mattarella: President with the final say
President Sergio Mattarella faced calls for his impeachment after he prevented the populist alliance from taking office. He singled out its choice for finance minister, Paolo Savona, warning that an openly euroskeptic minister in that position went against the parties' joint promise to simply "change Europe for the better." After the parties agreed to replace Savona, Mattarella gave the go-ahead.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Solaro
Di Maio: Anti-austerity advocate
M5S chief Luigi Di Maio secured his party 32 percent of the vote in the March election. With the populist M5S-League coalition in power, Di Maio assumed the role of joint deputy prime minister and took over the economic development portfolio. The M5S leader has come under fire for his anti-immigration rhetoric, including calling rescue missions to save migrants from drowning a "sea-taxi service."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/T. Fabi
Salvini: 'The Captain'
Matteo Salvini is the leader of the anti-immigrant, euroskeptic League, which won 17 percent of the vote in the March election. A former MEP, he and his party have no experience in governing. Salvini has taken on the position of interior minister within Conte's Cabinet. Known for his hostile rhetoric toward immigrants and the EU, Salvini once described the euro a "crime against humanity."
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Di Meo
Savona: Anti-euro radical
Paola Savona, initially tipped to lead the Finance Ministry, has called the euro a "German cage" and said that Italy needs a plan to leave the single currency. The 81-year-old's stance won him the backing of most Italian lawmakers but that wasn't enough to stop his appointment being vetoed. In his place steps Giovanni Tria, an economics professor without any previous government experience.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Frustaci
Cottarelli: Temporary caretaker
Carlo Cottarelli was set to become Italy's caretaker prime minster after the M5S-League alliance failed to have its controversial cabinet picks approved. The former IMF economist's time in the spotlight was short-lived, however. Political uncertainty in Italy rocked Europe's financial markets and prompted Mattarella to swiftly renegotiate and approve Salvini and Di Maio's governing coalition.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/S. Lore
Berlusconi: Vanquished enabler
Silvio Berlusconi (right) and his Forza Italia entered a four-party electoral alliance including League in the March election that secured the bloc 37 percent. Berlusconi is now upset at his right-wing ally Salvini after the League leader moved to work with M5S. Berlusconi has said he would act as a "reasonable and scrutinizing opposition."
