Overview

• On July 9, a court cut Cocco’s bail from €1.5 million to €300,000 and his family, with support from the Italian embassy, deposited the funds with the court to secure his release.
• He is free on supervised liberty in Abidjan under judicial oversight and banned from leaving the country until his sentence is formally completed.
• Cocco was arrested in May 2022 on tax-fraud and criminal-association charges and in May 2024 received a 24-month prison sentence and a €60,000 fine.
• During more than two years of preventive detention, he suffered a stroke, contracted malaria and lost significant weight.
• Italian consular officials and his legal team maintained diplomatic pressure and visibility on his case, supported by family protests and media coverage.