The Italian ambassador, Pasquale Terracciano, was interviewed yesterday on TG1 Economia, an economic news programme broadcast on Italy’s RAI television, where he discussed the recovery of €1.3 billion from offshore accounts in Jersey. The accounts had been traced to the Riva Group and were linked to the former management of the Taranto-based iron and steel company ILVA.
The funds recovered, which had been siphoned off by the Riva family, are to be transferred to Italy’s Single Justice Fund in Italy and will be used for improvements on the ILVA plant.
A European Parliament commission is currently visiting Taranto to examine the impact of the plant on the health of the local population and the surrounding environment.
The successful resolution of the case was made possible by longstanding collaboration between the Embassy of Italy in London, the public prosecutor of Milan, the Guardia di Finanza (the Italian finance police) and the Jersey authorities. Ambassador Terracciano visited Jersey to establish contact with the local authorities and to discuss the case with them. The discussions also reviewed the progress made on tax transparency between Italy and Jersey, following the Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEA), which came into force on 26 January 2015.
– TG1 Economia interview (in Italian)
