Bank of Italy governor Ignazio Visco is one of a number of people being investigated by domestic prosecutors after accusations of corruption and fraud, according to Italian media on Tuesday morning. The investigation is related to one Italian bank's purchase of another lender during 2014, Banco Desio's acquisition of Banco Populare di Spoleto, according to Il Fatto Quotidiano, the popular Italian newspaper that broke the story. Here's a Google translation of the piece. The position held by Visco is one of the European Central Bank's most influential, as Italy is the eurozone's third-largest economy. Before it was held by him, ECB President Mario Draghi headed the BoI. Here's the front page of Tuesday's edition of Il Fatto Quotidiano:
The Governor of the Bank of Italy , Ignazio Visco , is under investigation , as part of a probe into the takeover and subsequent sale of Banca Popolare di Spoleto ( BPS ) , say reports . The Bank of Italy had requested that bank be put under administration following a thorough inspection that found serious irregularities and capital losses ; the Bank of Italy then picked bank di ##ario e della Brianza to take BPS over by buying a majority stake , however , as a result of the takover , the original shareholders in BPS , who owned 51 % of the bank , saw their holding reduced to 10 % . The shareholders also blame the Bank of Italy for refusing a better offer from another bank .