Favored private interests, 74 people under investigation for Milan's urban planning, including the mayor

An investigation in Milan has uncovered mismanagement and suspicions of corruption in the Italian city's administration, with 74 people under investigation, including Mayor Giuseppe Sala.

Prosecutors accuse the municipal administration of, instead of protecting the public interest, allegedly bowing to the interests of a small elite circle to manipulate urban planning projects and circumvent regulations, favoring private interests.

An investigation that is shaking Palazzo Marino with a request for house arrest for the Urban Regeneration councilor, Giancarlo Tancredi, and prison sentences for Giuseppe Marinoni and Alessandro Scandurra, president and vice-president of the Landscape Commission. The mayor Giuseppe Sala, who will appear in court next Monday, has also been put under investigation, as well as other well-known figures such as Giuseppe Marinoni and Stefano Boeri, are also involved in this investigation, writes A2 CNN.

Mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala

The investigation has focused on the manipulation of urban planning, using a "secret plan" to develop building groups in suburban areas of Milan. This plan involved legal assistance from the city administration and a public-private partnership to avoid normal legal procedures.

Computers, phones, and other materials from the suspects were also seized, increasing the possibility of expanding the investigation.

Regarding Sala's possible resignation, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has stressed that an investigation does not automatically mean resignation and that this is a matter that Sala must decide himself, reports A2 CNN.

"My position is the same as I have always held in these cases: I think that the judiciary must follow its own path, and as for the mayor, I have never been convinced that a notice of investigation automatically leads to his resignation. It is a choice that the mayor must make based on his ability, in this scenario, to govern as best he can. I do not change my position based on the political affiliation of those under investigation," declared Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the investigation into Milan's urban planning, in an interview with Tg1. (A2 Televizion)