Mps-Mediobanca: no investigation on Mef, investigation advances

Within the alleged 'concert' to take over Mediobanca, the role of the CEO of Mps, Luigi Lovaglio, is defined by investigative sources as that of an 'external competitor' and 'facilitator' of the operation. This is because, according to what has emerged from the investigations so far, the banker "is not interested in controlling" Mediobanca, nor does he act "in the interest of Mps," but he provides, according to the prosecutors' thesis, "a causal contribution" to the hypothesis of market rigging. His would be, therefore, an alleged 'causal contribution to the realisation of the concert' together with Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone and Francesco Milleri. The very fact that the Opas "was not made in the interest of the bank" means that Rocca Salimbeni is not under investigation under Law 231 on the administrative liability of entities.

"The Mef is not under investigation, is not a natural person, is not interested in the control of Mediobanca and is not the subject of an investigation". This is what has been reported by judicial sources investigating the operation that brought Mediobanca under the control of Mps. An investigation that, at the moment, sees the entrepreneur Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, the president of the holding Delfin, Francesco Milleri, and the same CEO of Monte dei Paschi, Luigi Lovaglio, under investigation with the hypothesis of alleged market rigging and obstruction of the supervisory authorities.

The investigation, continue the same sources, 'is far from over' and, after the seizures made in recent days, there is now 'a lot of material that needs to be worked on'. Even the Generali company, they explain, 'is not under investigation'.

According to the Milan Public Prosecutor's thesis, Mps's takeover of Mediobanca 'was not made in the bank's interest'. In fact, as emerged from the contents of the search decree, the work of the Milanese prosecutors started from the way in which the third placement of a share in Rocca Salimbeni by the Treasury was carried out, and from there the investigation began. But the investigation is not on the MEF ('the government is not interested in scaling up' say investigative sources), just as Abb's modalities do not constitute a crime hypothesis because 'it is not a public tender'. On the part of the Ministry of the Economy, rather 'the intention, probably, of wanting to convey Mps' participation to a specific recipient' has emerged.

The same sources, on the other hand, define as a 'revelatory passage' the outcome of the subsequent Mediobanca shareholders' meeting, in which last August the shareholders rejected the operation on Banca Generali (in exchange for the 13% share of the Generali company held by Piazzetta Cuccia). And even there they hypothesised a 'concert', precisely because in the shareholders' meeting that day they expressed 'a concerted majority that blew up the takeover bid on Banca Generali'. It was a meeting which, in the eyes of the investigators, was of 'great importance', since 'they counted themselves there'. A sort of 'rallying call of all those who could vote against or abstain'.