Mario Adinolfi arrested for fraud and tax evasion: "Dangerous individual", five-million-euro loss
The leader of the Popolo della Famiglia is under house arrest following a Financial Guard investigation into the "Collective Bet". The investigating judge describes him as dangerous and at risk of evidence tampering.
Adinolfi under house arrest: fraud and tax evasion in the "Collective Bet" club
Journalist and leader of the Popolo della Famiglia Mario Adinolfi has been arrested and placed under house arrest as part of a Financial Guard investigation into fraud and tax evasion, as reported by Google News IT — Crime (it). According to the Rome Prosecutor's Office, "the alleged system would have produced a loss close to five million euros"; a further 400,000 euros would be attributable to tax evasion.
At the centre of the investigation is the so-called "Collective Bet", a scheme through which millions of euros were allegedly collected from private individuals, who were promised returns linked to sports betting. For several participants, the sums invested were never returned.
The mechanics of the "exclusive club"
Adinolfi had founded this club years ago, presenting it as an exclusive initiative based on a "team of experts" and sophisticated betting algorithms. Membership required payment of annual or quarterly fees between 3,000 and 10,000 euros, with the promise of returns up to 40% per annum.
The politician and blogger, known for his ultratraditional Catholic positions, had repeatedly stated that he was managing the initiative transparently. In an interview he explained: "The sum invested is always and in any case guaranteed, but whoever requested its return outside the quarterly windows in which the operation is permitted accepted forfeiting accrued and non-reinvested winnings". Ahead of the latest European football championships, he promised returns of 150% — and even 200% in the event of Italy's victory in the tournament — for shares purchased by February at the price of 9,500 euros.
Complaints and the Iene investigation
The Financial Guard opened the investigation following reports from several participants who had unsuccessfully attempted to recover their sums. Social media posts document movements of the scheme between 2022 and 2023, despite Adinolfi having repeatedly stated that he had closed the activity, adding that during the most active periods the number of members was in any case limited.
The matter had already emerged in some episodes of "Iene" on Italia 1. The television investigation culminated in a physical confrontation between Adinolfi and the programme's correspondent Filippo Roma, at the end of an election presentation: the images, widely circulated on social media, show the journalist grabbed by the hair. In April the production had released a press statement describing what happened as "a physical assault" against Roma. Adinolfi accused the programme of reporting falsehoods and of using extras in its reports; the correspondent refuted the allegations by showing his criminal record.
Among the cases documented by Iene is that of a disabled woman resident in the province of Rome, with a monthly income below 800 euros, who allegedly entrusted her savings to the scheme. The woman subsequently filed a complaint with the Rome Court. Another participant had stated on television: "I am not an extra. I have personally suffered economic and personal losses. If I do not recover my capital, I will make my testimony public". Despite these testimonies, Adinolfi has always denied any allegations.
The investigating judge: "Persists in manipulation of reality"
The investigating judge for the Rome court Giulia Arcieri justified the precautionary measure in a twenty-page order. According to the investigating judge, "Mario Adinolfi's dangerousness emerges from the television interviews on file, from his attitude of denial of the debts incurred and from statements about the alleged falsity of the complaints made against him — which are truthful as corroborated by the bank transfers executed and by the emails exchanged between the parties to the agreement — which show that the suspect, far from distancing himself from possible errors of the past, persists with determination in deception and in the manipulation of reality, evading his responsibilities".
The investigating judge also noted the risk of evidence tampering: "the freedom of the individual could affect the genuineness of the evidence, given that investigative activities are ongoing with regard to the collection of statements from other injured parties and documentation relating to the relationships between them and the suspect". Financial flows would still be undergoing reconstruction and further criminal charges could potentially be identified.
The concrete danger, according to the judge, is that Adinolfi "could approach the individuals who have already filed complaints and induce them to retract, in whole or in part, given that some of them would be vulnerable individuals in relation to compromised health conditions or from a financial perspective" — having invested their entire capital in the operation — "and therefore approachable even with the promise of sums of money".
Source: Google News IT — Crime (it)