He is accused of embezzlement and self-laundering: he allegedly made approximately 650 thousand euros disappear from the houses of the municipalities of Nughedu Santa Vittoria and Bidonì, in the province of Oristano, both during the period in which he worked as head of the accounting service and now that he is retired, but works for a company that always deals with municipal administrations.
These are the reasons that led to the arrest by the Oristano Mobile squad of Claudio Zago, 59 years old, former mayor of Ardauli and former municipal official.
The investigations were triggered about a month ago by a report made by the mayor of Nughedu Santa Vittoria who had noticed shortfalls in the municipal budget. The agents of the Flying Squad found confirmation of the report in a very short time and sent a report to the Prosecutor's Office in Oristano, which resulted this morning in the precautionary custody order in prison served on the 59-year-old.
Zago would have invested the 650 thousand euros in cryptocurrencies but would have lost them all. Precisely these wrong investments would have triggered a vicious circle with further illegal withdrawals from municipal coffers. According to what was ascertained by the Mobile investigators, the withdrawals took place in the last two years. The fifty-nine-year-old would have independently authorized the payment orders by having the money flow directly into his accounts. It was therefore relatively easy for investigators to detect the currency transfer. Checks on previous years will now be started.
(Unioneonline)
