The Milan prosecutor's office has called for the arrest of Stefano Boer, an Italian architect known as a friend of Prime Minister Edi Rama and the creator of Tirana's urban plan.
Arrest warrants, in addition to Boer, were sought for two other architects Cino Zucchi and Pier Paolo Tamburelli. The three architects are accused of manipulating the auction and risk ending up under house arrest.
The Guardia di Finanza has actually sent him a notice to prevent the interrogation, set for February 4, Italian media report.
Investigations have been launched over a year ago for an international design competition for the construction of the new Beic, the European Library of Information and Culture: financed with €101 million, it must be built by 2026 in the Porta Vittoria area.
Boeri and Zucchi are also under investigation for "false statements about their identity or personal or other qualities." The investigating judge also denied the precautionary seizure of over 5.2 million euros on be beneivement of the persons under investigation and the professional firms involved.
Italian prosecutors said there is a "concrete risk" that the three, if released, "may communicate with each other, present an alibi for their assorted presence in a place on a given day." For example, Boeri, according to the Guardia di Finanza investigation, was present "near tamburelli's house the night before the tender was announced."[
Furthermore, the prosecutor's office believes that there is "a concrete risk of probable contamination by suspects, who, if released, may affect the future deposits of other members of the selection committee, RUP (Sole Manager of Procedure) and other municipal leaders with conditionality or pressure on them."
Boeri is also accused of failing to declare "frequent professional cooperation" between his studio and the SCE project, led by Manuela Fantini (who was also part of the winning consortium), documented by 9 invoices for 117,728 euros issued by SCE to Stefano Boeri.
According to the Guardia di Finanza Economic and Financial Police Unit, these are the "fraudulent methods" by which "regular tendering" was manipulated.