Rome prosecutors on Tuesday
placed Italian Space Agency (ASI) chief Enrico Saggese under
house arrest on graft charges after a fellow official blew the
whistle on what he said were fake invoices issued to agency
suppliers.
Saggese allegedly threatened whistle-blower Roberto Borsa
with shutting down his section and "compromising his
professional future" if he went to authorities, according to
court documents.
The allegedly dodgy invoices were issued to Rome-based
Sistina Travel, which organized ASI employees' trips abroad, and
Turin-based Get-It Communication, a PR company.
Including Saggese, seven ASI officials are currently under
investigation in the graft probe.
These include ASI spokespersons Francesca and Mario Giacomo
Sette, who are employees of Italian aerospace and industrial
giant Finmeccanica.
Operating under the education and research ministry, ASI
reportedly had a yearly budget of 700 million euros as of 2010.
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