Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè on
Friday denied she had been asked to resign after being indicted
for alleged false accounting at her former publishing company
Visibilia.
Santanchè, a lawmaker in Premier Giorgia Meloni's rightwing
Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, also said her relationship with
the prime minister was "as always" when quizzed by reporters on
the sidelines of the inauguration of the 17th edition of the
Motor Bike Expo in Verona.
"Nobody asked me to take a step back", she said.
"I have always said that I am absolutely calm because I know how
things stand", she added.
The 63-year-old minister, who resigned from her roles in
Visibilia, a publishing and advertising agency that is now in
administration, before she became minister in 2022, has denied
all wrongdoing.
She was among 17 people indicted last Friday over alleged false
corporate communications, including her partner Dimitri Kunz and
her sister Fiorella Garnero.
Prosecutors alleged that the balance sheets were manipulated
between 2016 and 2022 to hide millions of euros of losses and
enable the company to stay in business.
The trial, which will begin in March, may not be the only one
that will stem from alleged wrongdoing related to the minister's
business activities.
Santanche has survived a no confidence motion in the Senate over
her former business allegedly failing to pay suppliers and
dismissing workers without giving them redundancy payments and
allegedly improperly receiving COVID aid.
"I have always said that, in the event of a judgement on the
COVID funds, where I understand that there could be political
implications, I would not have hesitated to take a step back but
we haven't reached this point, I am continuing to work", said
the minister, who has vowed to clear her name.
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