Milan prosecutors ask to drop case against mayor and real estate magnate in planning probe

MILAN, Nov 10 (Reuters) – Italian prosecutors have asked a judge to drop a case against Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala, property developer Manfredi Catella, architect Stefano Boeri and 13 other people investigated over alleged irregularities in the approval of building projects.

The investigation, which, besides Sala and Coima SGR founder Catella, also involved former urban planning councillor Giancarlo Tancredi among others, alleged offences including corruption, undue influence and false statements. Sala and Boeri were not investigated for corruption.

In a 19-page filing reviewed by Reuters, Milan prosecutors said the evidence gathered during the investigation did not support a “reasonable prospect of conviction” for any of the 16 suspects and therefore they recommended dropping the case.

Prosecutors said Italy’s highest court had ruled that conflicts of interest, failures by public officials to recuse themselves, professional and business ties between officials and property developers, and irregularities in planning procedures were not sufficient in themselves to prove a corrupt quid pro quo between benefits received and the exercise of public functions.

It will now be up to a judge to decide whether to accept the prosecutors’ request and close the case or order further investigations.

According to court documents, Milan prosecutors had previously argued that investigations into some of the largest redevelopment projects in Italy’s financial capital had uncovered a system aimed at facilitating the issuance of unlawful building permits and enabling highly speculative real estate transactions.

Milan’s property market began booming in 2015, when the Expo world fair helped to transform the city into a magnet for developers and investors from Italy and abroad, reshaping its skyline.

However, complaints from local residents over a sharp increase in high-rise developments triggered a series of investigations into alleged abuses in the approval of building permits, bringing much of the city’s construction sector to a standstill.

While prosecutors have now moved to drop the strand of the investigation centred on alleged corruption, several trials relating to suspected building and planning violations are still under way. 

Other investigations into alleged breaches of urban planning rules also remain at a preliminary stage.

(Reporting by Emilio Parodi, editing by Keith Weir)