Milan, Jan. 16 (LaPresse) – "Everyone was aware of the company’s constant losses, and the board of directors decided not to write them down." These were the words of former Visibilia Group manager Francesco Maggioni in his testimony to the financial police, which is part of the records held by the Milan Prosecutor's Office in the false accounting case spanning from 2016 to 2022. The investigation targets the Minister of Tourism, Daniela Santanchè, along with 16 other managers, collaborators, auditors, and three companies from the editorial and advertising group.
A crucial hearing is expected on Friday morning before the preliminary hearing judge in Milan, Anna Magelli. The final defense arguments of the accused will be presented, after which the judge will decide whether to grant the prosecutors' request for indictment—submitted by Maria Gravina, Luigi Luzi, and Deputy Prosecutor Roberto Pellicano—or issue a dismissal or accept plea agreements presented by one of the defendants and the companies Visibilia Editore S.p.A. and Visibilia Editrice S.r.l., part of the group that also includes the now-liquidated Visibilia S.r.l. A decision may come as early as the same day.
The prosecutors are challenging seven years of the companies' financial history. According to the allegations, they concealed "million-euro losses" from the public and demonstrated a "systematic inability" to "generate income" through "overly optimistic business plans" approved by the board, which allowed them to obtain "unjust profits" by avoiding both "costly recapitalizations" and more prudent financial management. Santanchè is only implicated in some of the accusations.
Maggioni’s testimony includes an email dated July 1, 2020, in which the 55-year-old—former controller of Visibilia Editore S.p.A. and Visibilia Editore Holding and later sole director of Visibilia Editrice S.r.l.—states: "Personally, I would write everything down. But it’s not up to me. Let’s hear from Dimitri," referring to the senator's partner, Dimitri Kunz D’Asburgo, a board member and later CEO of the publicly listed Editore S.p.A., who is co-defendant with Santanchè. Maggioni identified Kunz as the figure who "handled all the companies" from an "administrative and managerial" perspective and as the one who "decided on the final preparation of the financial statements," at least from 2016-2017 onward.
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