Intercepted conversations from March 2021 have led investigators in Genoa to suspect that COVID-related figures reported by Liguria were altered as the region sought more vaccine doses. Financial police said it was plausible that the figures had been manipulated, and Governor Giovanni Toti and his chief of staff, Matteo Cozzani, were registered as suspects for allegedly falsifying a public document, according to the report.
In a conversation on March 24, Cozzani discussed the figures with Maurizio Caviglia, secretary general of the Genoa Chamber of Commerce. Cozzani said he had already “adjusted” the numbers, but that Toti had increased them again after they were returned. In separate intercepted exchanges, Cozzani and regional health officials referred to figures sent to the office of COVID emergency commissioner Francesco Paolo Figliuolo that were unusually high or did not match earlier data.
Investigators believe the figures may have been changed to support requests for more vaccine supplies. The information sent to the commissioner’s office was an official document used to represent regional vaccine needs to the government. The report says Figliuolo’s office ultimately based its supply decisions on other considerations, so the altered figures did not have significant consequences.
The vaccine-data matter is separate from the corruption and political-financing investigation that later became the main focus of the case. Prosecutors are also examining donations to Toti’s political committee from private and affiliated healthcare providers, including Casa della Salute and Iclas in Rapallo, as well as other organizations.
Investigators want to establish whether the contributions were lawful and whether donors received administrative measures in return. The report identifies three or four healthcare-sector donors under scrutiny, in addition to 20 companies from other sectors already on investigators’ radar. Toti has defended the role of affiliated private healthcare, while regional opposition figures argue that funding private providers can weaken public services.
Sources: Corriere della Sera.