Mario Benotti talks about his relationship with Commissioner Arcuri on TV and says that Arcuri had been informed by Palazzo Chigi of an investigation. Benotti’s revelations and Arcuri’s version
Io, Arcuri, Palazzo Chigi and the Chinese masks. All the details on Benotti’s version WHAT BENOTTI SAID ON TV ABOUT ARCURI AND NOT ONLY
Inspector Arcuri and I “let’s start talking about masks on 11 March. He tells me that there was this need “. To say so and Mario Benotti, revealing, at the Fourth Republic, a program conducted by Nicola Porro, the friendly relations with the Emergency Commissioner Domenico Arcuri.
Benotti, a RAI journalist on leave, is being investigated by the Rome Prosecutor’s Office for trafficking in illicit influence, in the investigation into the 1.2 billion euro maxi order on the masks purchased from the structure of the extraordinary Commissioner Domenico Arcuri, who is not under investigation. THE FACTS ABOUT BENOTTI
In the midst of the pandemic, 800 million masks for 1.2 billion euros arrived from China to Italy. Responsible for the purchase and the commissioner structure headed by Domenico Arcuri. The masks, purchased by three different companies (Whenzou Moon Rain, Whenzou Light and Luokai Trade), arrive in Italy with over 200 El Al flights, thanks to various intermediaries. MAXI COMMISSIONS TO INTERMEDIARIES FOR THE PURCHASE OF MASKS
Intermediaries who received 72 million euros, not disbursed by the Commissioner’s structure. THE UNDER INVESTIGATION
And for this ended up under investigation. The suspects – wrote the newspaper – are Andrea Vincenzo Tommasi, who was at the top of the company Sunsky srl, the journalist on leave from Rai Mario Benotti, Antonella Appulo, Daniela Guarnieri, Jorge Edisson Solis San Andrea, Daniele Guidi, Georges Fares Khozouzam and Dayanna Andreina Solis Cedeno. The other companies involved in the investigation are Partecipazioni Spa, Microproducts It Srl and Guernica Srl. THE SEQUESTRO
As part of the investigation, the currency police unit of the Gdf in Rome and Milan carried out a preventive seizure decree on current accounts, company shares, assets and luxury properties, for 70 million euros. BENOTTI AND THE MILLANTED RELATIONSHIP WITH ARCURI
Benotti is also accused of having boasted a friendship with Commissioner Domenico Arcuri. TELEPHONE CONTACTS BETWEEN ARCURI AND BENOTTI
The investigation by the prosecutor and the special currency police unit of the Finance revealed how in five months, from January to May 2020, between Benotti and Arcuri there had been 1,282 telephone contacts. And how, then, relations were abruptly interrupted starting from May 6, the Repubblica remembers today. RELATIONS BETWEEN BENOTTI AND ARCURI
But there seems to be very little in this report. Unless, according to what Benotti himself reported, with his mobile phone in hand, at the Fourth Republic, a program conducted by Nicola Porro. “I had known Commissioner Arcuri since I was an adviser to the Government and anyone who had had the opportunity to meet Commissioner Arcuri, because from the point of view of his efficiency he had always worked very well with us”, says Benotti. THE FIRST CONTACTS IN THE PERIOD OF A PANDEMIC
Knowledge, that between Benotti and Arcuri, continued even in full pandemic. “On March 3, around 10.00 in the evening, Arcuri calls me, he was not yet Commissioner”, but the cell phone was off and then “He writes to me: ‘You have your cell phone off, tomorrow morning at 8.30 I have to be in civil protection. Our appointment is postponed ‘”.
And he is postponed to the evening of March 4th. “See you in the evening and Dr. Arcuri, in whom the Government clearly placed a certain trust, tells me, among other things, that there was this problem of the health emergency”. THE QUESTION OF MASKS
Arcuri also tells Benotti about the mask emergency. “We start talking about masks on March 11”. The Commissioner “tells me that there is a need to find masks. At that time, Dr. Arcuri lived between Invitalia and the Civil Protection “.
Why Arcuri asks Benotti for help
“I am someone who has some international relations, I am someone who has been in the defense network sector for a long time. But I don’t think that Dr. Arcuri only called me, because it would be madness ”, says Benotti. WHAT BENOTTI DOES
Invested in the post, Benotti involves Andrea Vincenzo Tommasi. “I get involved, I get to work and try to do everything I can do. I contact engineer Tommasi and tell him that there is this need and that we need to lend a hand in finding the highest number of masks “. CONTACTS WITH SOLIS
Benotti also has contacts with Jorge Solis, an Ecuadorian trader, investigated for trafficking in influences: “I exchanged three messages in total with Solis, at the beginning of this operation”. FOUND MASKS
Contacts bear fruit.
“I inform Arcuri that we found the masks on March 19th at 16.28 and he tells me: ‘Silvia Fabrizi is calling you’, an Invitalia official transferred with him to the Civil Protection”, says Arcuri. “With this message I inform him that I have found the possibility of a contact”.
On March 18, the day before, Nicola Porro points out, Arcuri was officially appointed Commissioner. WHAT HAPPENS AFTER
Benotti calls Silvia Fabrizi and proceeds with the commissioner for the purchase of the masks, but “Arcuri never enters into contractual matters, not even once. We all interface, I was in copy in all the emails of the Civil Protection, of the Commissioner structure “.
After finding the masks, adds Benotti, “we spoke with Commissioner Arcuri because one afternoon we met at the Civil Protection in via Vitorchiano and he told me ‘let’s try to speed up on the masks issue'”. RESPONSIBLE FOR ONE THING THAT HAS BEEN ASKED OF ME
“We have brought to Italy 57,000 and 100 cubic meters of material, 2,170 tons, the transport capacity of about 2,000 trucks of the Italian army. 252 flights of Boeing 777 ”, says Benotti, underlining:“ I, personally, now, find myself responsible for a situation of this kind. I intervened when I was asked and I was lucky enough to complete the operation “.
“I find myself under investigation for influence trafficking, with everything seized, including personal accounts, where there was also money that I had earned on my own in my previous life. Everyone seems to have forgotten the situation and the fault has become mine and that of another group of people ”, added Benotti. COMMISSIONS
READY TO BE REINVESTED
To Benotti, 12 million gross went through his intermediation, “or 6 million. I have already paid 500,000 euros in taxes on these, ”he says. “If this money had not been seized from us, we would have already reinvested in a consortium in the South, in Brindisi and Lecce, inside the Ecotekne, for projects on Covid”. THE DEMAND FOR RESPIRATORS
The Rai journalist on leave also reveals that in addition to the masks, Arcui had asked to get him “respirators”. Respirators who “have never asked us for them again despite having sent offers”, adds Benotti.
And not only. “The Commissioner’s structure, even a few days before the searches arrived, had called Tommasi because they needed gloves,” said Benotti. ARCURI INFORMED OF THE INVESTIGATION BY PALAZZO CHIGI
Although the requests for help continue, relations between Mario Benotti and Domenico Arcuri are interrupted since 7 May.
What happened that day
“Commissioner Arcuri is meeting me in Rome. He was preceded by a phone call from Dr. Bonaretti, who had been my head of the Cabinet at the Ministry and whom I knew, now Counselor of the Conte dei Conti and collaborator of Arcuri, in which Bonaretti said he had to see me ”
And instead” he comes ( Bonaretti) and Commissioner Arcuri under my office. Arcuri – continues Benotti – tells me that there was a difficulty, that at Palazzo Chigi they had informed him that there was an investigation into this whole situation, perhaps of the services. He begs me to stop any communication with him and so I do “. In this interview “Bonaretti remains distant”. THE REQUEST FOR PROBATORY INCIDENT
Palazzo Chigi had really informed Arcuri
This will be determined by the Prosecutor’s Office. “This I am willing to tell the magistrates”, says Benotti, adding: “I have submitted a request for a probative incident to the investigating judge”. BENOTTI UNLISTENED
Question, for now, not accepted. “I wanted to tell all this to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, to the Judge of preliminary investigations, to the Guardia di Finanza, but there was no way”, says Benotti. WHAT REPUBLIC IS WRITING
For the newspaper Repubblica, “it is enough to read the seizure decree with which the prosecutor’s office sealed assets for 70 million euros last week to understand, however, that the reconstruction of Benotti has something wrong: the investigation was born from a report of a suspicious transaction from the Bank of Italy dated July. The disclosure of the currency core arrives at the power of attorney at the beginning of September. Before then, as pointed out by investigative sources, the investigation was not there. And therefore it is impossible that someone from Palazzo Chigi could have informed Arcuri of the existence of something that in May (and until the end of July) did not yet exist “. ARCURI NOT INVESTIGATED
Meanwhile, Domenico Arcuri is not under investigation and the prosecutor has dropped the charges. “On behalf of the commissioner structure and the commissioner, investigative investigations were carried out (including wiretapping) for the crimes of 318-319321 cp (corruption) which gave a negative outcome for which the prosecutor requested the filing of the commissioner and the other members of the structure ”, writes the press office of Commissioner Arcuri in a letter sent to the Fourth Republic.
“Liability in relation to the competition in the hypothesis of 346 cp (traffic of influences) was also excluded since the investigations carried out also excluded that there were any concessions in favor of third parties (Benotti & C.) to receive benefits”, reads again in the letter, which also specifies that “The Public Administration and consequently the commissioner structure cannot enter into mediation contracts and in fact they have never been stipulated”. RELATIONS BETWEEN BENOTTI AND ARCURI (ACCORDING TO ARCURI)
From the Arcuri press office also comes the denial that Benotti acted on behalf of the Commissioner: “The statements that appeared in the press that Benotti acted on behalf of Arcuri were not proven by the investigative activities which instead established, as a summary in the decree ordering the seizure, which Dr. Benotti boasted a personal and friendly relationship with Dr. Arcuri in an occult way and in order to obtain undue benefits “.
Arcuri, therefore, does not call himself a friend of Benotti. And he wouldn’t ask him for any help on the masks.
