Mayor of Venice arrested over EU-funded project

The mayor of Venice, Giorgio Orsoni, and 35 other people were arrested on the 4 June 2014 on corruption charges linked to a project co-funded by the EU.

The prosecutors' charge is that construction contractors created a €25 million fund for kickbacks to politicians overseeing the Moses flood barrier – a €5.5 billion project aimed at keeping Venice safe from floods.

The project is partly funded by the EU – €1.5 billion had been earmarked for this project by the European Investment Bank.

• Primary Source

Euronews, 04.06.14: Venice mayor arrested in probe into five billion euro barrier project http://www.euronews.com/2014/06/04/venice-mayor-arrested-in-probe-into-five-billion-euro-barrier-project/

The Guardian, 04.06.14: Mayor of Venice arrested over alleged bribes relating to flood barrier project http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/04/mayor-venice-arrested-alleged-kickbacks-flood-barrier

The New York Times, 04.06.14: Venice Mayor Is Arrested on Corruption Charges http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/05/world/europe/venice-mayor-is-arrested-on-corruption-charges.html

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