Lazio Court of Auditors launches audit on Sangiuliano affair. Former minister: 'Good, will ascertain my correctness'

Sangiuliano, for his part, returned to reiterate - also in his letter of resignation to the premier Giorgia Meloni - that he had never used a single euro from the ministry in favour of the woman with whom, as he himself revealed, he was having an affair. 'I am pleased to learn that the Court of Auditors is considering opening a file on the affair that concerns me,' his words before stepping down at Palazzo Chigi. 'In this way I will have the opportunity to clarify everything and prove that no public funds were spent and not a single euro from the Ministry was used for trips and transfers by Ms Maria Rosaria Boccia.

The investigations of the accounting magistrates will soon be joined by those of the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office. On the table of the magistrates at Piazzale Clodio is the complaint of the Avs MP Angelo Bonelli and that of the person directly concerned, Gennaro Sangiuliano.

The opposition parliamentarian hypothesised the crimes of misappropriation of public money and disclosure and use of official secrets. The reference is still to the words of Boccia, who claimed to have been aware of and involved in the organisational phases of the G7 Culture Summit in Pompeii, a city visited together with the minister himself. The public prosecutors of Piazzale Clodio will formally proceed to open a file, possibly in the first phase on a model 45 (i.e. without suspects or hypotheses of crime) and then delegate the authority to carry out investigations. However, in the case of extreme offences, the investigation would then pass to the Court of Ministers - even though Sangiuliano has resigned - because at the time of the events he was still in office.

The magistrates will also be addressed by the minister himself, as reiterated in his letter to Meloni. His complaint, as anticipated by lawyer Silverio Sica, will hypothesise the crime of breach of confidentiality, referring to Boccia's publication of private videos, emails and audios on social networks. 'For the material we have examined,' said the lawyer, 'we are in the midst of a very private affair that politically responds to the logic of the all-Italian double standard, one's own morality and that of the opponent.

"I will now, together with the lawyers who will help me, be my own lawyer," the former minister said in an interview with Il Messaggero. "Do you know that I have a degree in law and a doctorate in law? I know well how lawsuits are filed against journalists and I know unfortunately, now directly on my skin even though I would never have imagined such terrible cynicism and such strong contempt for the person, the devastating danger of fake news. Millions and millions in compensation I expect'.

Meanwhile, Salvatore Sica, lawyer for the former Minister of Culture, says: 'The complaint is being processed and we intend to file it with the magistrates at the beginning of next week. I will meet with former minister Sangiuliano and we will proceed by also attaching to the complaint a series of documents demonstrating the absolute correctness of my client's conduct. It is undeniable that the former minister was subjected to unlawful pressure by Dr. Boccia, which, in my view but the decision will be up to the magistrates, prefigures the crime of attempted extortion. In the document that we will make available to the prosecutors, we will provide a chronological and detailed reconstruction of this affair, which is and remains very private'.