Milan-Cortina Olympics: Elisabetta Pellegrini, a senior official at the Ministry of Transport, is under investigation
As coordinator of the technical task force at the Ministry in Porta Pia – and regarded as one of Matteo Salvini’s closest advisors on infrastructure matters – Pellegrini is now involved in the tender process for the construction of the Socrepes cable car
The investigation into the Milan-Cortina Olympics has reached the Ministry of Transport. Elisabetta Pellegrini, a senior official at the Ministry of Transport and coordinator of the technical mission unit at the ministry in Porta Pia, is under investigation in the strand concerning the contract for the Apollonio-Socrepes cable car, the cable car in Cortina that was supposed to be ready for the Games but never came into operation due to a lack of testing.
Yesterday, investigators seized computers and mobile phones belonging to the ministry executive. This seizure broadens the scope of the inquiries and takes the investigation right to the heart of the technical apparatus of the MIT, led by Matteo Salvini. Pellegrini is considered one of the key figures in the Ministry of Infrastructure and is very close to Minister Salvini, who appointed her. Her name joins those already included in the Belluno Public Prosecutor’s Office file, including Massimo Fabio Saldini, CEO of Simico and special commissioner for the Olympic works.
The first public development in the investigation dates back to late May, when the Belluno Public Prosecutor’s Office turned its attention to the tender for the construction of the Apollonio-Socrepes cable car, one of the most controversial projects in Cortina since the bobsleigh track. Three people are under investigation. Searches were carried out in Rome, Milan, Brescia, Naples and Cortina d’Ampezzo by officers from the Mobile Squad and the Special Operations Unit of the police. Investigators entered the premises of Simico, the company commissioning the Olympic infrastructure, those of Graffer, the contractor carrying out the works, and the homes of the suspects.
At the heart of the matter is the contract for the lift system that was supposed to take skiers and spectators directly from the centre of Cortina to the slopes. According to the prosecutors’ theory, the contract was awarded in a great hurry, without following the proper procedures, likely in the knowledge that delays had already accumulated. It is on this aspect that the investigation is now focusing: to ascertain whether collusive agreements or fraudulent practices favoured Graffer in the awarding of the contract, despite knowing that the timeframe would not allow the lift to open before the Olympics.
The cable car was part of the Olympic Plan, comprising 98 projects, but had not been included among the essential sports facilities. The project involved both a public and a private component – namely a car park – based on a partnership that was, however, never implemented. It was therefore decided to proceed only with the public part: the cable car.
