Overview
- Prosecutors in Rome have opened a preliminary inquiry for corruption and unlawful disclosure of official secrets that names three people under investigation: former Corte dei Conti vice‑president Tommaso Miele, entrepreneur Vincenzo Virgiglio and lawyer Giacomo Francesco Saccomanno.
- Carabinieri ROS executed searches in Rome, the province of Reggio Calabria and the Frusinate this week and seized mobile phones and documents that investigators say contain intercepted conversations and materials relevant to the probe.
- Investigators say intercepted calls show Miele allegedly passed reserved information on colleagues' orientations and discussed hopes for post‑retirement posts while Virgiglio and Saccomanno appear to have offered access and support in return for favourable action.
- The case has intensified political pressure with opposition parties demanding the project be halted and government leaders explain themselves while the bridge concessionaire, Stretto di Messina Spa, says it is not implicated and will cooperate.
- The inquiry is still in a preliminary stage as magistrates sift seized data to see whether the two intermediaries acted for others and to identify any wider political or corporate links; the Corte dei Conti had already rejected CIPESS registration of the project on 29 October 2025, a decision that still blocks work from starting.