Formigoni gave Maugeri €40m in 2010

The Democratic Party has accused the governor of Lombardy Roberto Formigoni of giving the Maugeri Foundation €40 million in 2010, an increase of 925% on the funds granted in 2009. In the same year Pierangelo Dacco`, the middleman between Formigoni and the Maugeri Foundation had given Formigoni €600,000 for his electoral campaign.

In February 2010 Formigoni had introduced a law inspired by Dacco` to increase the public funds given to private health foundations in return for services rendered to the region of Lombardy. The amounts of funds given were based on the number of patients treated, the number of researchers involved and the total number of employees working for the foundations. The Maugeri Foundation enjoyed the biggest increase in funds, with funds increasing ten fold between 2009 and 2010. The Democratic Party is accusing Formigoni of handing over €40 million of public funds directly to the Maugeri Foundation bypassing the scrutiny and approval of the Lombard regional parliament.

Between 2001 and 2011 the Maugeri Foundation got over €196 million in public funds from Formigoni’s government.

Milan magistrates are investigating Roberto Formigoni and six former Maugeri Foundation officials for their role in funneling € 70 million of funds of the Maugeri Foundation and sent to overseas accounts of companies based in several countries, including Malta. Formigoni, one of the leaders of the Catholic movement ‘Comunione e Liberazione’ which also operates in Malta, has very close friends in the cabinet of ministers run by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.

Formigoni is being investigated about the money he received from former director of Maugeri Pierangelo Dacco`. According to Dacco` this money was spent on exotic holidays by Formigoni and on his 2010 electoral campaign.

Since last April Milan magistrates have been questioning six officials of the Salvatore Maugeri Foundation about a huge money laundering operation where up to €70 million were sent to overseas accounts, including €15 million sent to Malta via the Bank of Valletta to SIB Laboratories Ltd, based in at 26, Pope Alexander VII Junction, Balzan. In the investigation by the Milan magistrates a trend is emerging of how politicians and well connected people were used to open doors and to cover up the operation.

Maugeri’s consultant Gianfranco Mozzoli has told investigators that in the Lombard region the Foundation appointed Antonio Simone from ‘Comunione e Liberazione’ and Pierangelo Dacco` from the San Raffaele Foundation not because of their expertise but because of their connections and their ability “to open doors”.

Mozzali came to Malta several times to accompany his colleague Costantino Passerino to meet their contacts in Malta, among them the University of Malta (photo). Milan magistrates have collected evidence that Malta was used at least till the end of 2011 by a network of persons who laundered up to €70 million by sending them to overseas accounts for largely fictitious business activity that cost much less to finance. 

In Malta Dr David Gonzi, the son of the Prime Minister was appointed company secretary of SIB Ltd in June 2011. He resigned after maltastar.com broke the news of the Maugeri scandal earlier on this year.