Fastweb Founder to Stand Trial
A judge ordered Italian billionaire and Fastweb SpA founder Silvio Scaglia to stand trial on Nov. 2 on charges of belonging to a criminal association aimed at tax fraud, Rome prosecutors said.
Mr. Scaglia, along with other former executives of Italian telecommunications operators Fastweb SpA and Telecom Italia SpA’s cable unit Sparkle, are accused of involvement in a €2 billion ($2.64 billion) money laundering and tax fraud scheme.
Prosecutors allege that executives at Fastweb and Sparkle were aware of the purchase and sale of services valued at €2 billion using phony companies backed by the ‘Ndrangheta mob of Southern Italy. The transactions included things such as Internet bandwidth, and took place between 2003 and 2006.
The alleged practice allowed Fastweb and Sparkle to reap as much as €400 million in tax credits, some of which are documented in the companies’ internal-audit reports, prosecutors say.
