Another indictment for alleged bankruptcy follows a similar charge against Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè, already on trial in Milan for alleged false accounting for Visibilia and facing another charge of aggravated fraud against the National Institute of Social Security (INPS). This latest legal issue concerns the "judicial liquidations" of companies belonging to another "galaxy" she created, decided by the Milan Bankruptcy Court over the course of almost two years.
The recent filing, which dates back to a few weeks ago, stems from the bankruptcy of Bioera, the joint stock company of a biofood group of which the Fdi senator was president until 2021. It had already been learned, at the end of December 2024, that Santanchè had been under investigation for bankruptcy for some time following the January 2024 collapse of Ki Group—the group's limited liability company of which the parliamentarian was president and legal representative between April 2019 and December 2021—along with her former partner Canio Mazzaro, his brother Michele, and other former directors. In recent months, the investigation by the Prosecutor's Office headed by Marcello Viola, with Deputy Prosecutor Roberto Pellicano and Prosecutor Luigi Luzi, recently joined by his colleague Guido Schininà, also filed the liquidator's report on Bioera, the parent company that went bankrupt at the end of 2024. And just after that report was filed, another bankruptcy case was opened, which once again led to the Minister and Mazzaro being listed as defendants.
The court ruling spoke of a "negative net worth," or a "hole" for Bioera, of approximately 8 million euros. " Given that our client has not yet received any notification ," Santanchè's lawyers, Nicolò Pelanda and Salvatore Pino, clarified, "having resigned from her position as Bioera's non-executive president since 2022 , we would find her involvement, to say the least, strange. She has never even been a shareholder of the company . At most, it could be a necessary act for guarantee purposes." Meanwhile, the opposition is on the attack. "Her permanence at the Ministry of Tourism is completely unsustainable," says Democratic Party secretary Elly Schlein, who asks Prime Minister Meloni whether "she intends to continue defending her friends or the credibility of the institutions." The Five Star Movement also took a firm stance: according to MP Emma Pavanelli, "the timing of this legislature has been dictated by the investigations against the minister, without Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ever saying a word." The government, however, has not commented, keeping quiet and, according to reports from majority sources, is awaiting the outcome of the investigations.
Meanwhile, on June 5, 2025, the group's third company, Ki Group Holding S.p.A., went bankrupt, again with further bankruptcy implications. The liquidator's report is pending. From what has been learned, the three cases should then be consolidated into a single file, with multiple suspects and charges, in preparation for the conclusion of the investigation. In general, the investigation is underway for bankruptcy arising from corporate crimes, such as false accounting, and fraudulent bankruptcy arising from malicious transactions. Meanwhile, the minister has begun the Visibilia false accounting trial, and the first prosecution witnesses have been heard. She is still in a preliminary hearing, suspended pending a ruling from the Constitutional Court on the question of the usability of certain recordings, for the aggravated fraud involving redundancy payments during the Covid period. However, an interlocutory hearing before the preliminary hearing judge has been scheduled for February 20, during which prosecutors could attempt to break the impasse that has arisen in that proceeding.
(Unioneonline)