Twelve inquired to Palermo within an investigation for corruption in the release of professional qualifications for staff marine



To Palermo today military of the Harbour office - Guard Costiera of Palermo and the Nucleus of Excise and Revenue Police of Palermo has executed personal precautionary measures regarding 12 inquired to which 59 between corruption actions are contested, undue induction to giving or promising usefullness, detections of and fraudulent mispresentations compulsory in existence public secret within an investigation, duration about a year, on episodes of corruption in the release of professional qualifications marine for staff boarded on mercantile ships and from cruise.

The investigation has afforded to enlighten on an articulate criminal context in which they operated, between the others, ten public officials - between which four dependent of the Body of the Harbour offices and three dependent of Istituto Nautico of Palermo -, that they acted in competition with the holder of the school of marine international formation "Study De Santis" of Palermo, qualified from the Ministry of Infrastructures and the Transports to carry out propedeutici training courses marine to the boarding on naval units.

They have been moreover subordinates to seizure the center of the "Study de Santis", the field of training for marine of Palermo that takes part of the business compendium of the society, various checking accounts, let alone movable property and pieces of real estate for a total value of 1.250.000 euros. Also center in the Republic of San Marino is arranged the seizure of a having society and registered the same administrator of "Centro De Santis".

Guard Costiera and Customs corps have announced that as a result of complex investigations - in the within of which it has been made resorted to wiretaps and environmental, pedinamenti, acquisition of actions and audits - the investigators are successful to assess that the marine ones that they formulated request in order to participate to the examinations - whose overcoming was necessary in order to obtain the professional qualifications and the certifications previewed from the international norm to the aim to carry out delicate and important on board duties of mercantile ships and from cruise, in some cases tied to safety - came "approached" from someone of the inquired ones, than, in connection with the international Center of formation marine, they promised the easy overcoming of the tests, advance frequency of "pre-course" to payment in fact held from the same public officials who afterwards would have taken part of the commission examiner.

In particular, it is ascertained that more than 50 candidates are approached and a part of these has effectively paid not inferior sums to the 1,000 euros in order to benefit of preferred lanes for an easy overcoming of the examinations. In some cases also one has assessed that, in occasion of the "pre-course", the candidates came punctually been profitable edotti on the arguments that would have been examination object.

It is ascertained moreover that the inquired ones succeeded to supply to the candidates also advances with respect to the traces that would have been they subordinates in occasion of the written test of English, preparing them for the translation of the text that then would have been object of the test.

Guard Costiera and Customs corps have evidenced that "the investigation in question reveals a system of corruption that, for the capacity and the importance of the faced issue, has enormous repercussions on an aspect of primary national and international importance, that is safety of the transports tied to the mercantile and crocieristici marine traffics. The illicit conducts assessed in the course of the investigations - they have specified - in fact have led in the release of marine professional titles having legitimized the development of the most delicate functions, on board of cruise ships or cargo vessels, as those of in charge of covered guard in and car while browsing. The carried out investigations have, moreover, carried in light the economic interests of Francesco De Santis, administrator only international Center of marine formation, and the sperequazione of the patrimony from acquired he in the years, that he has been subordinate to seizure "for disproportion", in application of the special discipline previewed for the corruption crime".