The preliminary hearing in which Daniela Santanchè is among the defendants for aggravated fraud against INPS has been postponed to May 20.
The decision was made by the preliminary hearing judge of Milan Tiziana Gueli, after the minister's new lawyer, Salvatore Pino, asked for a "defense deadline", that is, a postponement to study the documents given his recent appointment. The other defense attorney, Nicolò Pelanda, was instead engaged in another trial.
Already yesterday, the lawyer Pino, who replaced the lawyer Salvatore Sanzo in the defense team, had announced to the preliminary hearing judge the request for a deadline for the defense, presented this morning, and at the same time the other defense lawyer Pelanda filed a legitimate impediment because he is busy with another appeal trial. Hence the adjournment decided by the judge. We "cannot exclude" that the minister Santanchè will be questioned in the courtroom in the preliminary hearing, Pino explained to reporters, adding that " we are evaluating it " . " I spoke to her yesterday, the minister is very calm " , the defense lawyer underlined.
In today's hearing, however, no decision was reached on whether to send the case to trial or not. After the Supreme Court ruled that the proceedings will remain in Milan, the preliminary issues phase is still open and the defense could raise others or even ask for the defendants to be examined in court. Then, the word will pass to the prosecutors who will reiterate the request for trial. Therefore, at least two more hearings will be needed.
INPS, Pino always says, "will withdraw" the civil action "because it has been fully compensated" both on the patrimonial and non-patrimonial front, i.e. image, by the former Santanchè companies. The GUP, in the meantime, is about to move to another position in the Court and has been extended to the GIP office until March 31, but could, however, remain applied to conclude the preliminary hearing. In any case, even a change of judge at this stage would not lengthen the times too much.
According to the charges, the senator of FdI, her partner Dimitri Kunz and Paolo Giuseppe Concordia, an external collaborator with personnel management functions at Visibilia Editore and Visibilia Concessionaria - companies of the group founded by the minister, from which she left in 2022, and also accused - were aware of having "unduly" requested and obtained the redundancy fund "to support companies affected by the effects" of the Covid pandemic for 13 employees, for over 126 thousand euros.
Santanchè, like the other two, is accused of having "falsely declared" that those employees were on "zero-hours" pay, while in fact they were carrying out "their duties" in "smart working". Visibilia Editore has already asked to settle and the two companies have compensated INPS. For the minister, the trial on false accounting in the Visibilia case will begin on April 15. Then, she is investigated for bankruptcy for the failure of Ki Group and risks a similar charge after the collapse of Bioera.
(Online Union)
