March 5 2007

Silvio Scaglia founds Babelgum, an interactive media and telecommunications company.

March 13 2007

Silvio Scaglia is interrogated by Roman prosecutors who are investigating on an international tax fraud. The facts relate to the operation “Broker”, although new elements have not emerged in the last three years.

April 13 2007

The public prosecutor requests the dismissal of Scaglia’s case because of lack of evidence.

May 22 2007

Scaglia’s case is dismissed by the preliminary investigation prosecutor.

April 10 – May 2007

Swisscom buys, through a public tender offer, 82,1% of Fastweb’s shares (5% comes from Scaglia’s portfolio).

June 19 2007

Silvio Scaglia resigns from all operational roles and embarks on new business adventures.

February 23 2010

The “Broker” operation takes off. Anti-mafia prosecutors conduct a probe into a large fiscal fraud with 56 people under investigation for tax fraud and money-laundering. Fastweb and Telecom Sparkle’s top management are involved in the fraud. Silvio Scaglia learns about the pre-trial custody order against him while he is abroad.

February 24 2010

Swisscom sets up a meeting with the shareholders to appoint Fastweb’s Board.

February 26 2010

Silvio Scaglia rents a private jet to get back to Italy from the West Indies and surrenders himself to the prosecutors. The prosecutors attach his personal assets.

March 2 2010

Silvio Scaglia is interrogated in prison by the prosecutor. The prosecutor reconstructs the origins of his assets and financial transactions. “Fastweb”, Scaglia says “is victim of a fraud”.

March 4 2010

Scaglia meets regional councillor, Anna Evelina Pizzo and PDL deputy Melania Rizzoli in prison and asks them: “What am I doing here?”

March 4 2010

A request against Fastweb’s court-appointed administration is submitted and the public prosecutors ask the magistrate to postpone the decision. Scaglia’s attorneys state: “We are available to cooperate with the prosecutors”. Scaglia requests another hearing to clarify the situation.

March 4 2010

Swisscom confirms Stefano Parisi as CEO of Fastweb. Carsten Schloter, Swisscom’s numer one, states: “The due diligence carried out before the acquisition had not revealed any criminal activity”.

March 5 2010

Claudio Antonelli in “Libero” analyses the economic impact of the probe on shareholders and on the telecommunications world: “The probe can stop the birth of a new telecommunications company financed by Fastweb (owning the biggest and most advanced optic fiber network in Europe) and by other Italian investors, which aims to bring broadband to the homes of all the Italians.

March 9 2010

The preliminary investigation prosecutor rejects Scaglia’s request for release.

March 11 2010

Paul Betts in “The Financial Times” states: “The Telecom scandal is an important test for the Italian judiciary”.

“Set aside the fact that much of the prosecutors’ confidential documentation is now freely circulating on disks among the Italian media. Forget also that those arrested are being held without trial, and if the past is any guide to the future they can expect to be in jail for weeks and months without charge. However questionable, this is all pretty “normal” in Italy. It would be like sending someone suspected of homicide to the electric chair before deciding if the purely circumstantial evidence against him merited a trial”.

March 16 2010

Silvio Scaglia resigns from Fastweb’s Board. Scaglia’s attorneys state: “Scaglia’s gesture proves his willingness to prevent his legal case from damaging, directly or indirectly, the whole company”.

March 18 2010

The Court of Review rejects Scaglia’s request for bail.

March 28 2010

Franco Benedetti writes in “IL Sole 24 Ore”: “4 questions about Fastweb”.

“Why should Fastweb and Telecom Sparkle be aware of the fraud? Why should the new management collude with the old one making court-appointed administration for Fastweb necessary? Why was Scaglia not placed under house arrest? Why has the carousel tax fraud (which lasted till 2006) not been discovered earlier by the prosecutors?”

March 29 2010

Scaglia talks to “Corriere della Sera” through his attorneys: “I have been in prison for a month now but I have clarified everything. I really hope the probe will not have an impact on Fastweb either in Italy or abroad. Fastweb does not deserve it”.

April 2 2010

The hypothesis of putting Fastweb under court-appointed administration is avoided in the end thanks to Stefano Parisi’s decision to suspend his duties.

April 3 2010

The prosecutors decide not to put Fastweb under court-appointed administration.

April 4 2010

“Scaglia is in prison because he’s rich” writes Maurizio Belpietro in “Libero”, 40 days after Scaglia’s arrest. “If the prosecutors have serious evidence against him, they should bring him to court and sentence him. It is not acceptable that pre-trial incarceration is used as an additional instrument of inquiry, as a way to get evidence”.

April 5 2010

Fastweb’s employees become testimonials for an ad campaign to defend the company’s image: 900 people take part in it.

April 9 2010

Double standards: Nicola Porro in “Il Giornale” finds out several inconsistencies and states that the prosecutors have favourably considered Carlo Micheli’s position (Fastweb’s co-founder) whereas they have been extremely strict with Scaglia and the managers that work with him”. Why can Silvio Scaglia not be unware of the fraud while Carlo Micheli, chairman of the audit committee, can?

April 12 2010

Silvio Scaglia is interrogated in prison by the prosecutors.

April 14 2010

The probe stops the birth of Newco, set up by Fastweb, Vodafone and Wind, which aimed at bringing optic fiber to 15 cities, thus overcoming the monopoly of the last mile, now in Telecom Italia’s hands. Walter Galbiati writes in “La Repubblica”: “Top management should have met the State representatives on April 9 but the probe has “beheaded” Fastweb”.

April 22 2010

Maurizio Tortorella, news editor of “Panorama” shares Porro’s opinion: “Carlo Micheli says that he firmly wanted the operations to be interrupted and that he paid for that by leaving the company”. However, the files from the audit committee say the opposite.

April 22 2010

Panorama launches an online survey: 92% of the answers are in favour of Scaglia’s release.

April 22 2010

Vittorio Feltri in “Panorama” writes: “We’d like to know the reason why pre-trial incarceration lasts months without anyone saying anything”.

April 22 2010

Silvio Scaglia’s letter to Swisscom chairman, Carsten Schloter: “I’m keeping my hopes high. Fastweb and myself have been victims of a well-orchestrated fraud”.

April 22 2010

Fastweb’s Board approves 2009 budget: 1.85 billion euros profit with 8.5% increase compared to 2008. 70 billion euros have been set aside to face the risks coming from the probe. This will cause the company a 37 billion euro loss.

The new Board is appointed: operational roles are given to Swisscom chairman, Carsten Schloter and to Stefano Parisi, former CEO.

April 22 2010

Castern Schloter talks to the journalists:

1)      First term results are in line with 2010 objectives: the danger of the probe affecting the company’s performance has passed.

2)      The idea of increasing unbundling fares is criticized. “In this way, Telecom will not invest in new generation networks.

April 29 2010

Maurizio Tortorella writes about pre-trial incarceration in Italy: “Scaglia has been in prison for 58 days, is that not enough?”

April 29 2010

Peppino Caldarola in “Riformista” writes: Scaglia has been in prison for weeks without prosecutors making any progress in the inquiry”. And Pietro Calabrese in “Sette” (“Corriere della Sera” newsmagazine): “What is happening in Italy?”

April 30 2010

“I may sound boring but I insist: why is Silvio Scaglia still in prison after over two months of pre-trial incarceration? No additional counts have been added and the law is clear about it”.

May 17 2010

The GIP signs off on Silvio Scaglia’s house arrest order after receiving the go-ahead from public prosecutors.

May 19 2010

Two days after the signing off  of the release order, Silvio Scaglia is transferred to Valle d’Aosta where he is placed under house arrest in his family home.

May 19 2010

The appeal hearing against the custody order against Scaglia is held on May 19. The Court of Revision reserves the right to rule on the case.

May 24

Sergio Luciano notes how Roman prosecutors are facing a tough challenge with Scaglia as he is psycologically sound and very much determined. “Scaglia  denies all charges”.

June 1

The Court of Review rejects the request for Scaglia’s release. Scaglia’s lawyers ask for the evidence gathered  during Scaglia’s interrogation on April 12 to be taken into account.

June 16

The magistrates of the Court of Appeal rules that if someone in a company commits a crime it  is not always necessary to place the whole company under court appoitment.

June 24

Paul Betts, in The Financial Times, talks about Scaglia’s affaire: “The case has produced much more heat than light while at the same time dragging the reputations of some leading business figures through the mud. Take for example Silvio Scaglia. “Mr Scaglia” writes the Financial Times “has spent the last four months in jail or under house arrest without any charges being brought. Prosecutors accused Mr Scaglia of tax evasion and false invoicing. Yet after three years of investigations and another four months poring over his accounts with Mr Scaglia behind bars, they have yet to produce hard evidence”.

June 26

The Court of Appeal rejects all appeals against preventive custody filed by the suspects’ lawyers. In particular, the Court of Appeal judges consider Silvio Scaglia’s house arrest legimate.

July 2

The Court of Appeal in Rome conducts an inquiry into the reason why magistrate Aldo Morgigni deals only with the Telecom Italia- Fastweb case, despite the fact that magistrate Paolicelli, the person who was initially allocated the case, is back at work after being on the examining board of magistrates.

July 6

Scaglia’s laywers do not attend the appeal hearing  against Morgigni’s order of preventive custody against Scaglia at the Court of Review.

July 16

A few defence laywers in a letter to the court ask for Morgigni’s withdrawal from Scaglia’s case in the event of  a fast-track trial.

July 17

The Court of Review places Stefano Mazzitelli, fomer CEO of Telecom Italia and Massimo Comito, manager at Telecom, under house arrest. They had been arrested on February 23.

July 21

Prosecutor Giancarlo Capaldo says to the press that he will not request a fast-track trial for the suspects.

July 26

Scaglia “celebrates” 5 months of preventive custody.

August 6

Rome prosecutors request a fast-track trial for Scaglia and other 36 suspects involved in the Telecom Italia-Fastweb probe.

August 10

Magistrate Maria Luisa Paolicelli upholds the request for immediate trial for 37 suspects filed by Roman prosecutors. The first hearing is scheduled on November 2 in Rome.

August 12

Magistrate Paolicelli requests a fast-track trial for Antonio Catanzariti, former manager at Telecom Italia.

August 25

Silvio Scaglia’s house arrest measures expire after 6 months. However, the request for a fast-track trial (“giudizio immediato”) has reset the clock for preventative detention. The suspects face another six months of preventative detention, with the possibility that this could even be extended.

August 27

Scaglia’s strict preventive measures are softened. Now he can get out on his verandah and walk in the garden.

August 30

A fast-trial is also requested for Nicola Di Girolamo and Marco Toseroni, Gennaro Mokbel’s collaborator. Both  are involved in the Digint probe.