Rome finance police carried out searches on Tuesday in the offices and homes of public officials and companies, involved in a corruption probe. The investigation focuses on tenders in the telecommunications and IT sectors managed by the State-owned technology company, Sogei Spa.
The operation follows the arrest of Sogei’s director general, Paolino Iorio, and an entrepreneur, after Iorio was caught receiving a €15,000 bribe. The Rome State Attorney’s Office, coordinating the probe, revealed that 18 individuals and 14 companies are under investigation for corruption and auction rigging.
Finance police said the “corruption system” discovered had “ramifications both within the ministry of the defence, as well as in Sogei and finally in the ministry of interior”, according to court documents.
Wiretapped conversations revealed meetings between the arrested entrepreneur and a Navy captain. The captain allegedly requested both money and employment for an associate from the companies under investigation.
The investigation also mentions Andrea Stroppa, a key figure linked to Elon Musk in Italy. The finance police report detailed that the Navy official, aware of a government project to acquire a Starlink satellite system, sought to establish contact with Stroppa during the discussions surrounding the project.
A statement from Sogei reads: “Sogei expresses full confidence in the judiciary, to which it is giving full support, and declares itself indisputably extraneous to the facts. If the contested facts were definitively established, the company will declare itself an injured party and will defend itself in the competent offices”.
