#Leonardo Spa: indagati 10 dirigenti per corruzione. Sotto inchiesta due società #Google.
Coincidenze…#Renzi #elezioniUSAhttps://t.co/5THdmvP8mE— Barbara Raval 🐱 🇮🇹 💙 🐸 (@BarbaraRaval) January 14, 2021
Tech giant Google stands accused of helping suppliers of Leonardo SpA launder funds which Leonardo managers accepted as bribes in exchange for issuing orders to suppliers.
Google allegedly aided in the movement of funds by concealing the names of individuals transferring the funds using the Google Payment platform, Google’s virtual money transfer system.
It did this, authorities say, by listing the names of the senders simply as “Google Payment.”
The scheme involves about 400,000 euros which was transferred to Italy over 25 different transactions between the years of 2017 and 2019.
🚨GOOGLE INVOLVED IN FUNDING and HINDERING INVESTIGATION INTO LEONARDO CO. #italydidit
Source⬇️https://t.co/DTuXRjlsjT pic.twitter.com/xgDXp4WZ8A
— Swampkiller (@Danny13596121) January 13, 2021
The investigation, which is being spearheaded by the Milanese Public Prosecutor Office’s Gaetano Ruta, implicates Transpart, and its U.S.-based division FTB. Both are makers of components used in the aerospace, civil and military hardware industries and both are suppliers of Italian defense giant Leonardo SpA.
Ten Leonoardo managers are accused of accepting bribes, which also included gifts such as vouchers to buy electronic devices, expensive Mont Blanc pens and even fictitious consulting contracts.
Google Ireland and Google Payment are implicated in the scheme, accused of having allowed “the transfer of sums of money resulting from tax fraud” hindering “the identification of the criminal origin,” authorities say.
Italian entities have been growing increasingly connected to several U.S. scandals, most notably SpyGate and the manipulation of the Nov. 3 presidential election which has become knows as ItalyGate. So many connections have been made in fact that the ancient expression “All roads lead to Rome” has become a trending hashtag on Twitter.
ITN has requested comment on the accusations above from Google, Transpart, FTB and Leonardo SpA. Those requests were not returned as of the time of publishing.