Strait Bridge: investigation at the political level. Proceedings also underway in Catanzaro

Investigators are delving into the records. Into the seized mobile phones. Into the network of contacts that Vincenzo Virgiglio and, above all, Giacomo Francesco Saccomanno – former head of the Lega Salvini in Calabria and, until 29 April, a board member of Stretto di Messina SpA – are alleged to have maintained within and around the Strait Bridge project. A project worth 13.5 billion euros, running from the concessionaire to the lead firm of the Webuild/Eurolink consortium and reaching into the political sphere. It is there that the magistrates are focusing the second phase of the investigation: corporate relationships, links to Parliament, and possible intermediaries. Because, according to the case files, it cannot be ruled out that the ‘promises of benefits’ made to former auditor Tommaso Miele came ‘from third parties for whom Virgiglio and Saccomanno acted as spokesmen’. And that is not all. It appears that the Catanzaro Public Prosecutor’s Office is still working on other lines of inquiry, distinct from those referred to the Rome prosecutors on grounds of jurisdiction.

The investigation in Rome is being led by magistrates Francesco Gualtieri and Fabrizio Tucci, who are coordinating the inquiries carried out by the ROS Carabinieri. Virgiglio, Saccomanno and Miele face charges of corruption and breach of official secrecy. The investigation is still at a preliminary stage, but in the case files the investigators make an initial point: ‘Vincenzo Virgiglio, in collusion with Giacomo Francesco Saccomanno, managed to approach the Deputy President of the Court of Auditors, Miele, to influence the progress of the Court of Auditors’ ongoing review of the legality of government and state administration documents relating to the Strait Bridge project, in order to obtain confidential information on the progress of the preliminary investigation”.

The attempt, however, did not produce the desired result. On 29 October, the audit judges blocked the final design for the Strait Bridge, which had already been approved by CIPESS. Yet, according to the court documents, Miele continued to act in the interests of Virgiglio and Saccomanno. It is here, in the investigators’ view, that the two strands of the inquiry converge: the confidential information regarding the bridge project and the search for a new position for Miele following his departure from the Court of Auditors.

The investigation is now focusing on the most sensitive aspect – the political dimension that emerges from the documents filed so far. There are links with members of the Lega. And there is a relationship with the mayor of a municipality in the Verona area, who has expressed his “immediate willingness” to help. A concrete offer: the “guarantee of accompanying him to speak with political figures at the Christmas Concert on 20 December 2025 at Montecitorio”. The aim, according to the documents, was to secure an ‘endorsement’ for the post Miele was targeting once he left the Court of Auditors upon reaching the age limit: a position at the Competition Authority.

But the case file does not stop at Miele. The documents also reveal an attempt to approach at least two other magistrates at the Court of Auditors. The aim, according to the reconstruction, was to secure two more ‘moles’ within the panel tasked with reviewing the legality of the approval process for the CIPESS resolution. Invitations and offers are said to have been made last October. To no avail: the two magistrates approached did not respond to the solicitations.