Moscow Accused of Funding Salvini’s Right-Wing Party

ROME (AP) — Opposition lawmakers in Italy on Thursday demanded that Interior Minister Matteo Salvini appear in Parliament about allegations that a covert Russian oil sale scheme was devised to fund his pro-Moscow League party.

Democratic Party lawmakers pressed for a parliamentary inquiry after a media report alleged that a former Salvini associate proposed an under-the-table arrangement to pump money into Salvini’s right-wing party.

The alleged proposal for the multimillion-euro plan was made last year after the League became a partner in Italy's populist coalition government and before May's European Parliament elections.

As he did when the allegations first surfaced earlier this year, Salvini shrugged off the latest version.

"Never took a ruble, a euro, a dollar or a liter of vodka of financing from Russia," Salvini said after the BuzzFeed report was published Wednesday.

Salvini openly admires Russian President Vladimir Putin and vigorously advocates an end to European Union economic sanctions on Russia.

The opposition lawmakers want to question Salvini, the BuzzFeed journalist who reported the allegations, Italy's ambassador to Moscow, and Russia's ambassador to Rome.

They also want to hear from Gianluca Savoini, a League associate close to the Russians who allegedly championed the proposed deal.

The BuzzFeed article about a Moscow meeting aimed at arranging such a deal in 2018 mirrored allegations that appeared months ago in Italian magazine L'Espresso.

BuzzFeed built on L'Espresso's story, saying it had obtained an audio of the conversation about the deal among Italians and Russians at a Moscow hotel.

Both articles said the deal would have involved a Russian energy company selling fuel to an Italian energy company. The fuel would be offered at a discount, with part of the difference going to the League's coffers.

Both L'Espresso and BuzzFeed said the reporters had no confirmation the deal was sealed or evidence that fuel was delivered or funds channeled to the League.

Asked what role alleged middleman Savoini has in the League, Salvini replied brusquely: "I don't know. Ask him. It's ridiculous, all that I read in the papers."

Milan daily Corriere della Sera quoted Savoini, in a text message exchange with the newspaper, as saying of the BuzzFeed account: "All conjecture! Nothing concrete because neither money nor funds ever came to the League from Russia. Never!"

The League is the junior partner in a populist coalition with the 5-Star Movement that has led the Italian government since June 2018.

Premier Giuseppe Conte told reporters he hadn't listened to the audio linked to the BuzzFeed report but had faith in Salvini and welcomes an investigation.

The Italian news agency ANSA said that Milan-based prosecutors had started looking into possible international corruption after L'Espresso's article in February.

Salvini says that sanctions against Russia unfairly hurt Italian exporters.

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