Italy’s League has 75 years to repay party funds after fraud probe – prosecutors

Italian prosecutors said on Tuesday the far-right League can repay some €45 million ($53 million) it owes the state over the next 75 years, saving the governing party from possible bankruptcy. A court ruled this month that prosecutors in the northern city of Genoa could seize some €49 million from accounts and businesses belonging to the party following a fraud investigation, Reuters reports. The courts have already recovered almost €4 million, but many League bank accounts were discovered to be empty and magistrates are investigating whether other funds may have been shifted abroad illegally to avoid detection. The League, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, has denied this. Some senior party figures had warned that the court ruling could force the group, which rules in coalition with the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement, to disband.