A Milan judge on Friday ordered Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè to stand trial for alleged false accounting at her former publishing company, Visibilia.
The 63-year-old minister, who stepped down from her roles at Visibilia, a publishing and advertising firm now in administration, prior to becoming a minister in 2022, has denied any wrongdoing.
Santanchè is among 17 individuals indicted on Friday for alleged false corporate communications. This group includes her partner, Dimitri Kunz, and her sister, Fiorella Garnero.
“We expected this decision, but it still leaves a bitter taste,” said Santanchè’s defence lawyer, Nicolo Pelanda. “A few days ago, we presented the judge with the findings from a previous case, which significantly undermined one of the prosecutor’s key claims today.
“The prosecutors argue that the business plans contained overly optimistic forecasts, necessitating a devaluation. However, in the earlier proceedings, the Milan finance police and prosecutors contended that the business plans were conservative, which led them to request the case be shelved.”
Prosecutors allege that between 2016 and 2022, the company’s balance sheets were manipulated to conceal millions of euros in losses, allowing the business to continue operating.
The trial is scheduled to begin in March and may not be the only legal proceeding arising from allegations related to the minister’s business dealings.
Opposition calls for resignation
Santanchè, a lawmaker in Premier Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, has already survived a no-confidence vote in the Senate.
Santanchè maintains her innocence and has vowed to clear her name. However, the opposition continues to demand her resignation.
The leaders of the two biggest opposition parties, the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and the populist 5-Star Movement (M5S), said that Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè must go following the indictment.
“Daniela Santanchè has been sent to trial. Just a week ago (Premier) Giorgia Meloni said she wanted to wait for the judiciary to make a decision: now it has arrived,” said PD leader Elly Schlein. “She called for resignations for much less when she was in opposition. What will she do now? Has she changed her mind about this too? A Prime Minister cannot use double standards, especially with friends whom she wanted in government and for whom she is now politically responsible. The trial will take its course to ascertain if she is guilty, but when the accusations are so serious, whoever holds the highest institutional office must step down. Daniela Santanchè must resign. And Giorgia Meloni must demand her resignation.”
M5S leader and ex-premier Giuseppe Conte echoed those sentiments. “We again demand the immediate resignation of the minister, without wanting to anticipate the outcome of the criminal trials,” Conte said. “It is absolutely indecorous for the government institutions for the minister to remain where she is. Meloni, who in the past asked for the resignation of ministers for much less, what are you doing today, will you continue to fake indifference? Do you not feel a twinge of dignity to protect the image and honour of the institutions?”
