Italian prosecutors have begun probing allegations against a deputy economic minister accused of pressuring another official over an insurance company investigation, newspapers reported Saturday.
The investigation follows claims made in an article published Tuesday in Il Giornale, a newspaper owned by the family of former prime minister and opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi.
The article cited a report from Italy's financial authority head, Robert Speciale, accusing deputy minister Vincenzo Visco of pressuring him to transfer four officers who participated in an investigation into Unipol insurance company at the end of 2005.
Visco denies the allegations, while opposition right-wing politicians have called for his resignation. Unipol is controlled by a group of co-operatives that have historically been close to the left, and Visco is a member of Prime Minister Romano Prodi's centre-left governing coalition.
"Either directors of the financial authority lied, and in that case they should be dismissed, or Visco should resign," Berlusconi said Friday. Centre-left leaders have accused the opposition of seeking to discredit the government ahead of municipal elections scheduled for Sunday and Monday. The Unipol investigation occurred as the company launched a failed take-over bid of Italian bank Banca Nazionale del Lavoro. Former chairman Giovanni Consorte was accused of embezzling 50 million euros (67 million dollars).
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