THE FEDERALIST Northern League has been shaken by allegations of money laundering on behalf of the ’Ndrangheta, the Calabrian Mafia.
Investigators also believe public funds, made available to the party for electoral and other expenses, have been diverted to buy houses, cars, holidays and other luxury items for senior league figures, including party leader Umberto Bossi.
Party treasurer Francesco Belsito resigned on Tuesday night after it became known that he was under investigation by the public prosecutor’s offices in Naples, Rome and Milan, as well as by the anti-Mafia unit in Reggio Calabria, on charges of money laundering and fraudulent abuse of public funds.
On Tuesday police carried out more than 30 raids in Naples, Rome, Milan and Genoa on private homes and offices linked to the Northern League.
Investigators believe some of the €18 million that parliament awarded to the league last year by way of “electoral expenses” was used by the Bossi family. The funds are thought to have been used to secure a €50,000 car for Mr Bossi’s son Renzo and to fund renovations of the Bossi family home in Gemonio, not far from Varese.
Funds may also have been diverted to long-time Bossi ally Rosy Mauro, a key figure in the league’s trade union, Sin.Pa, and deputy speaker of the Italian senate.
Wire-tap surveillance within the ambit of a money-laundering investigation carried out by Naples-based investigators has highlighted some apparently strange dealings by Mr Belsito, including a €6 million investment in Tanzania linked to the diamond trade.
In their report, the Naples investigators say: “What keeps coming up in the [tapped] conversations are the costs incurred by the family, and by that we mean payments made out for the personal requirements of relatives of the party leader [Mr Bossi]”.
The Milan investigators arrived at a similar conclusion, pointing out that the “expenses” had nothing to do with party business and were in violation of the party statutes.
After a short period during which when he allegedly contemplated resignation, Mr Bossi denied all the accusations, saying he had not used party funds for himself or his home.
Yesterday, Mr Bossi’s sons, Renzo and Riccardo, repeated that denial, claiming neither they nor their family had taken money from the party.
Ms Mauro said the accusations against her and Sin.Pa were “totally unfounded”.
Despite the professions of innocence, the investigation may well hit the Northern League hard, as it has long presented itself as the squeaky-clean voice of the northern people battling against the corruption of Roma ladrona (Rome the thief).
Mafia expert Roberto Saviano, writing in daily newspaper La Repubblica yesterday, said: “The league can no longer claim to be different with regard to organised crime . . . This is a betrayal which can only be confronted by league militants and by its many honest components.”