Overview
- On Thursday prosecutors in Milan opened a formal investigation and the Guardia di Finanza carried out searches at ENCI’s offices and three production companies in Milan, Turin and Rome as part of the inquiry into funding for Dalla parte degli animali.
- Investigators allege a specific flow of funds from 2020–2023 in which the three producers billed ENCI about €976,000 while Brambilla billed those same producers about €937,643.20, a pattern prosecutors say shows most money was passed back to the presenter.
- The investigative decree cites apparent misuse of invoices described as product placement to create deductible costs and reduce taxable income, and notes ENCI liquidated far larger payments than those formally authorized by its board.
- Michela Vittoria Brambilla is formally under investigation for false invoicing and tax-related offenses alongside several others, including ENCI’s legal representative Espedito Muto, and the allegations remain to be proven in court.
- The probe follows reporting by RAI’s Report and a subsequent complaint, and authorities will next analyse seized documents and accounting records to determine whether payments were legitimate and whether criminal or fiscal charges should proceed.