The Health Italia stock rebounded today by 12.34% to 1.12 euros after losing 63% in the last five days. The company of the Euronext Growth Milan segment (formerly Aim) ended up, albeit not directly, in the investigation of the Milan Finance Police concerning a scam on life policies. An investigation started in 2018 when the president of a trust company operating between Milan and Pesaro, Fidimed, filed a complaint because about twenty customers had not received the capital when the product expired.
In recent days, the Economic-Financial Police Unit of the Gdf of Milan has started the seizure of over 21 million euros against 11 suspects accused of having deceived almost 1,500 investors, including numerous professionals and entrepreneurs in Italy, including three very known, the Pittarello brothers. To work on the case, the deputy prosecutor of Milan, Eugenio Fusco and the prosecutor Luigi Furno. The crimes hypothesized in the investigation conducted by the Milan prosecutor’s office are criminal association, fraud and self-laundering.
Among the suspects, the former heads of Health Italia, Massimiliano Alfieri (CEO), Roberto Anzanello (president), Paolo Bruckner (vice president), the company is instead cited in the seizure decree as an episode of self-laundering. The magistrates write that the company, at the time of the listing, was directly attributable to a “corporate entity into which part of the proceeds of the scams had flowed”. The crime of self-laundering occurs when the money resulting from a crime previously committed by the same person who then reinvests it is invested in an activity.
The investigation then started three years ago with a complaint against Davide Bonetti, who at the time had placed the products on behalf of the trust company, which were ultimately found to be without liquidity, without being registered in the register of financial promoters. These were unit linked with underlying investment funds sold with the promise of a return of 4%, to which 7% must be added when certain conditions are met.
During the Gdf investigations, the customers who had the policies (Global Quality Selection, Go Global Opportunity, Imperium Balance, Innovative Investment Fund managed by Novium AG Investment Solution, a Swiss company led by Paolo Bruckner) rose to 1,500 thanks to the investigation work carried out by IVASS on products with similar characteristics.
Policies underwritten by Maltese SICAVs, controlled by a Swiss company, controlled in turn by a Maltese SICAV, which used the resources to finance some investee companies. Among the latter, the Italian A1 Holding Spa, which, after a series of steps, has become Health Italia. The execution of seizures for a total of 21 million euros is underway in these days, a preventive seizure by direct form. It means that the assets (liquidity, investments, real estate …) that are directly attributable to the contested scam are frozen and in this sense the shares in the hands of the investigated managers (about 35% of the capital) should not be affected. A protection, among other things, for Health Italia (now led by CEO Livia Foglia), which said it was extraneous to the affair and which is not investigated.
The sme traded in Piazza Affari was studying the possibility of carrying out the spinoff of the real estate part, to be listed within the first quarter of 2022 (Rebirth) and which initially envisaged Massimiliano Alfieri himself as ceo, among the suspects. According to what is reported to milanofinanza.it from market sources, the operation has just been suspended. (All rights reserved)
