An operation by the Guardia di Finanza has been underway since this morning at the headquarters and secondary offices of Liberty Lines.
Little news has filtered through until now. The subject of the investigation would concern the payments made by the Regione Siciliana to the Morace family’s company in relation to the conventional agreement that binds it to the body for the maritime connection service of the minor islands by fast means, already at the center of the Mare Monstrum investigation dating back to 2017.
The police forces would have searched the Liberty offices and also at least one office of the Capitaneria di Porto. The persons under investigation would be 67 and among the items subjected to seizure would be the shipowning company itself.
From Liberty for now only this note: “Regarding the operations conducted this morning by the Guardia di Finanza at our offices, relating to alleged operational irregularities, Liberty Lines confirms its confidence in a positive outcome of the investigations and assures that the public fast connection service with the Sicilian islands will continue regularly.”
The lawyers for Liberty Lines and its shareholders, Alfonso Furgiuele, Lorenzo Contrada, Giovanni Di Benedetto, added that “the seizure order against their clients was issued by the Procura della Repubblica di Trapani, lacking both any reason for urgency and the further prerequisites that would have allowed its adoption. In the manner and terms provided by law, the various elements that require its annulment will be presented to the Judge, restoring the company’s full operational capacity.”
