Latest news with #ItalianGovernment
Bloomberg
13-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Banca Akros Says Monte Paschi Stake Sale Was in Full Compliance
By and Sonia Sirletti Save Banco BPM SpA 's unit Banca Akros said it fully complied with the law and best practices as coordinator for the sale of an Italian government stake in Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA in November. Akros was responding to Italian media reports earlier Friday, including by Corriere della Sera, that prosecutors in Milan were looking into the finance ministry's sale of a 15% stake to a group of investors through an accelerated bookbuilding procedure.
Reuters
11-06-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
Exclusive: Italy seeks clarity from US over curbs on Pirelli due to Chinese investor
ROME, June 11 (Reuters) - The Italian government is seeking clarity from the United States amid concerns that Washington could impose domestic restrictions on Pirelli ( opens new tab due to the tyremaker's Chinese investor, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The previously unreported involvement of Italian officials in talks with U.S. counterparts on the matter comes as the U.S. moves to limit the sale of cars using some Chinese technologies. Pirelli's Chinese and Italian shareholders are in a dispute over the group's governance. China's state-controlled Sinochem ( opens new tab is Pirelli's largest investor with a 37% stake, while Camfin, the vehicle of Italian businessman Marco Tronchetti Provera, holds 27.4%. Pirelli and Camfin have said that Sinochem's stake poses a risk to Pirelli's U.S. expansion ambitions. Washington has said it plans to ban key software and hardware from Chinese-controlled companies in connected vehicles on U.S. roads. Software prohibitions take effect in the 2027 model year, those on hardware in 2029. Asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, the sources said the Italian government was seeking clarity on whether the U.S. legislation would apply to Pirelli and, if so, to what extent. Rome is trying to help Pirelli in talks with Washington, one of the sources added. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office and Pirelli declined to comment. Pirelli makes over 20% of its revenue in North America, and that percentage rises to 40% for its high-value products. Sinochem's stake in Pirelli could end up in Washington's crosshairs because the Italian group has developed technology allowing data from its so-called Cyber Tyres to be collected and transferred in real time to the vehicle. Tronchetti Provera has also lobbied the Italian government to take more action to limit Chinese influence at Pirelli, Reuters reported last week, by strengthening restrictions that Rome imposed on Sinochem in 2023 through so-called golden power rules aimed at protecting strategic assets. However, Meloni's administration has so far rebuffed these calls. Pirelli holds a shareholder meeting on Thursday to approve its 2024 financial report, which some Sinochem representatives on the board did not back. Last month, the Chinese company described a proposal from Pirelli aimed at solving governance problems as "seriously unfair", while Camfin said that Sinochem's approach could lead to a break in the shareholder pact still in place between the two largest investors.
Bloomberg
11-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
UniCredit to Pull BPM Bid If Italy Doesn't Clarify Conditions
UniCredit SpA will pull the takeover bid for Banco BPM SpA if the Italian government doesn't clarify the conditions imposed on the deal, Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel said. 'If it is not exactly clear what they mean, once we close the transaction, we will have the risk of a €20 billion penalty,' Orcel said at a conference organized by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. 'The probability that we take that risk is zero, and therefore if the golden power is not in some shape or form clarified, we will pull.'
TechCrunch
09-06-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Paragon says it canceled contracts with Italy over government's refusal to investigate spyware attack on journalist
Spyware maker Paragon accused the Italian government of refusing its help in investigating whether a journalist was spied on with its technology, according to a statement on Monday. In the statement first reported by Haaretz, Paragon claimed it was this refusal that prompted the company to cut ties with its Italian government customers. 'The company offered both the Italian government and parliament a way to determine whether its system had been used against the journalist in violation of Italian law and the contractual terms,' read the statement. 'As the Italian authorities chose not to proceed with this solution, Paragon terminated its contracts in Italy.' Paragon confirmed to TechCrunch that the statement was accurate. After TechCrunch contacted Paragon's executive chairman John Fleming for comment, Emily Horne, who works for Westexec Advisors, responded saying the company is 'referring all media queries' to the statements in the Haaretz article. This is the first time a spyware provider has publicly stated it cut ties with a specific customer after reports of abuse. The spyware maker's accusation is the latest twist in a scandal that erupted in January, when WhatsApp revealed a mass-hacking campaign targeting its users. The messaging app giant said it alerted around 90 users that they were targeted with spyware made by Paragon, a company co-founded by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak (pictured). Paragon, which has a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has marketed itself in the U.S. and Europe as ostensibly a more responsible vendor compared to its predecessors in the industry. Francesco Cancellato, the director of news website Fanpage who was the first person to come forward saying he received WhatsApp's notification, is the journalist that Paragon referred to in the statement. Contact Us Do you have more information about Paragon Solutions, and this spyware campaign? From a non-work device, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or Do you have more information about Paragon Solutions, and this spyware campaign? From a non-work device, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or email . You also can contact TechCrunch via SecureDrop Paragon's statement is a response to a report published last week by an Italian parliamentary committee known as COPASIR, which investigated the spyware scandal in the country. The committee concluded there was no evidence that Cancellato had been a target of Italy's two intelligence agencies, AISI and AISE, which it confirmed were Paragon customers. Hours after Haaretz published Paragon's statement, the Italian government rebuffed Paragon's remarks, saying that the decision to first suspend and then terminate the contract with Paragon was mutual, according to unnamed sources quoted by Italian news wire ANSA. The sources were also quoted as saying that the Department of Information for Security (DIS), the Italian government body overseeing AISE and AISI, refused Paragon's help to check the logs on the agencies' Graphite spyware systems because doing so would have exposed confidential data to a private foreign company, and compromised national security. Allowing Paragon to help, the sources claimed, would have compromised the reputation of Italian intelligence agencies among its international peers. COPASIR and the Italian government, which is led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, did not respond to TechCrunch's requests for comment. Cancellato responded to Paragon's statement in a video posted on Fanpage. 'Who is lying in this story? COPASIR or Paragon?' he said. 'To find out, all we have to do is ask Paragon to officially tell us who spied on Fanpage. They said they can find out? We want them to tell us once and for all,' said Cancellato. In late April, Fanpage reporter Ciro Pellegrino said he had received a notification from Apple that he had been targeted with government spyware. COPASIR's investigation did not mention Pellegrino's case. COPASIR, on the other hand, confirmed that other victims of Paragon spyware were lawfully targeted. Those are Luca Casarini and Giuseppe Caccia, who work for the Italian nonprofit Mediterranea Saving Humans, which rescues immigrants who try to cross the Mediterranean Sea; and David Yambio, the president and co-founder of Refugees in Libya, a non-government organization active in Italy. All of them, COPASIR said, were lawfully investigated for their activities related to alleged illegal immigration. On the other hand, COPASIR concluded that there was no evidence of surveillance against Mattia Ferrari, a priest who works on the rescue ship of Mediterranea Saving Humans, who also received a notification from WhatsApp. In a statement to ANSA on Monday, COPASIR said that it was willing to declassify the contents of the hearing it held with Paragon representatives on April 9 to defend its work in the inquiry. The statement said COPASIR was surprised by Paragon's statement.
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Travel + Leisure
03-06-2025
- General
- Travel + Leisure
This Popular European Country Just Got a Heightened Travel Advisory Over Terrorism—What Travelers Should Know
As the summer travel season begins and travelers start getting ready to go on their European vacations, the U.S. government wants to make sure everyone is careful in certain areas with the potential for terrorism. Recently, the U.S. Department of State released a travel advisory for Italy warning travelers to exercise increased caution due to the threat of terrorism. The advisory ranks Italy at Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution, which recommends travelers stay alert to possibly heightened risk. The country has held that ranking since April 2022. 'There is risk of terrorist violence, including terrorist attacks and other activity in Italy,' the advisory states. 'Terrorists may attack with little or no warning.' The advisory warns that common targets for terror attacks include popular tourist spots, transportation centers, shopping malls and markets, local government buildings, hotels, clubs, restaurants, religious sites, parks, sporting events, schools, airports, and other public areas. It suggests that travelers should stay alert in tourist areas, and make sure to check local media for breaking news. At the moment there is no specific threat or terror plot that is cited. According to the State Department's 2023 Country Reports on Terrorism for Italy, there were no terrorism incidents in Italy that year. 'Domestically, Italy aggressively investigated and prosecuted terrorist suspects and regularly deported foreign nationals for terrorism-related security reasons,' the report states. 'Italian law enforcement has advanced capacity to detect and deter terrorist activity, links, and associations within its borders. Authorities employ those capabilities to counter terrorist recruitment, radicalization to violence, and networking. Law-enforcement agencies and intelligence services coordinate their efforts and meet regularly to review terrorist threats and share information.' The advisory should not deter travelers from going to Italy this summer. Instead, it should just function as a reminder to be aware of one's surroundings. It is only guidance, especially for countries ranked at Level 2. (And for some perspective, other countries have issued similar warnings to their citizens about traveling to the U.S.) Other countries in Europe that have a Level 2 ranking and a higher risk of possible terrorism activity include Belgium, Germany, France, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, and The Netherlands. The United Kingdom also has a Level 2 ranking. Travelers abroad are advised to enroll in the State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) in order to receive up-to-date messages and alerts from the local U.S. Embassy.
