Senior official at the Ministry of Infrastructure under investigation. Salvini: ‘We have every confidence in her’
The coordinator of the mission’s technical unit, who is very close to Minister Salvini, has been implicated in the investigation into the Socrepes cable car contract, along with Simico’s managing director, Saldini
by Ivan Cimmarusti and Flavia Landolfi
Elisabetta Pellegrini, a senior official at the Ministry of Transport and a key figure within the ministry’s technical apparatus, is under investigation in connection with the Milan-Cortina Olympics. As coordinator of the technical mission unit at the Ministry of Transport in Porta Pia, and considered one of Matteo Salvini’s closest advisors on infrastructure matters, Pellegrini is implicated in the strand of the investigation concerning the contract for the construction of the Socrepes cable car.
The investigation concerns one of the construction sites linked to the Winter Olympics and involves, amongst others, Fabio Massimo Saldini, the special commissioner for Olympic works and director of Simico, the company responsible for carrying out the construction work for the Winter Olympics, which was also recently involved in the first phase of the Housing Plan.
Yesterday, investigators seized computers and mobile phones belonging to the senior MIT executive who coordinates the mission’s technical unit, seizing devices and materials deemed useful for reconstructing the sequence of events, communications and relationships surrounding the disputed procedure.
The focus of the investigation, as things stand, is precisely this: to ascertain what happened in the management of the tender for the Socrepes cable car, one of the projects included in the Milan-Cortina initiative. A technical dossier, but a politically sensitive one. Because it concerns the ministry headed by Salvini and involves a senior official at the heart of the department responsible for overseeing the ministry’s major projects.
Salvini: Investigations will confirm the full legitimacy of the Olympic proceedings
The Milan-Cortina Olympics have been an extraordinary success, recognised even abroad: they are the result of years of work by myself and an entire team, which included Elisabetta Pellegrini, who stood out for her dedication and hard work. I would like to thank everyone once again for this extraordinary result: I am certain that the investigations will confirm the full legitimacy of all actions”. This was stated by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure and Deputy Prime Minister, Matteo Salvini, in a statement, commenting on the news of the investigation launched against Elisabetta Pellegrini, coordinator of the Technical Mission Structure (STIM) at the MIT. “For the time being, we can recall that the Games were an incredible showcase for the whole of Italia and we are proud of them,” emphasised the leader of the League.
