Italian police have arrested a key adviser to Rome’s 5Star Movement mayor in a corruption investigation, prompting the populist party to cancel a flash mob in support of the embattled Monte dei Paschi di Siena bank, according to AP.
Raffaele Marra, considered Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi‘s right-hand man, was arrested following an investigation into his business dealings from 2013.
The 5Star Movement had planned to hold a “flash mob for democracy” Friday in support of the bank in Siena, where MPS is headquartered. The party’s leader, stand-up comedian Beppe Grillo, was scheduled to attend.
Italyâs newly installed government led by Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni must decide whether to inject public money into MPS, the country’s third-largest lender, after the European Central Bankâs supervisory board rejected its request for extra time to raise â¬5 billion to turn itself around.
The Tuscan lender, however, is still pursuing a last-minute self-rescue effort. On Friday, MPS launched an operation to convert as much as â¬4.5 billion in bonds held by investors into shares by December 21.
Marra’s arrest comes a day after police searched City Hall and seized records about disputed appointments, and follows the resignation of Raggi’s top environmental adviser, who is under a separate investigation.
The arrests are a setback for Raggi, the 5Star Movement’s highest office-holder, and the party, which has made the fight against corruption its banner issue.
The Democratic Party’s Stefano Pedica launched the hashtag #Raggidimettiti, or “Raggi resign” in response to today’s arrest.
The 5Star Movement burst onto Italy’s political scene in 2013, at the height of the euro crisis, on a campaign of anti-establishment, Euroskeptic opposition. In recent polls, it ranked as Italyâs second most popular party, close behind the Democratic Party.