By Melike Pala
BRUSSELS (AA) - Seventy-four people are under investigation in Milan for alleged misconduct in urban planning, including Mayor Giuseppe Sala, the Italian news agency ANSA reported Thursday.
The Milan Prosecutor's Office accused city officials of favoring private interests over the public good, with prosecutors describing a "degeneration" of urban governance.
Sala is being probed for alleged forgery and undue influence. Prosecutors claim Sala's actions aimed to bypass legal procedures to push forward controversial projects.
A request for house arrest has been filed for Urban Regeneration Councilor Giancarlo Tancredi, while prison sentences are sought for Giuseppe Marinoni and Alessandro Scandurra, the former president and vice president, respectfully, of the now-dissolved Landscape Commission. Sala is expected to appear in court July 21.
Defense Minister Guido Crosetto criticized the investigation. "In Milan, a part of the investigating magistrates has also decided to replace the legislator, in the fields of urban planning, taxation, and labor, through regulatory interpretations that seem to me, in many parts, far from the provisions of the law and indeed very dangerous," he wrote on X.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told the Tg1 television station that judicial processes must take their course, and it is up to Sala to decide if he can continue to govern effectively. "I've never been convinced that a notice of investigation automatically leads to his resignation."
Italian financial police raided Milan’s City Hall as part of a corruption probe Wednesday targeting the urban planning office and major real estate projects that have reshaped the city’s skyline.
The investigation focuses on large-scale redevelopment projects carried out in the last three years.