Italian police have arrested four people for allegedly accessing an illegal database, a source told Reuters
MILAN (Reuters) – Italian police have arrested four people as part of an investigation into alleged illegal access to state information by an intelligence business run by a former police officer, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The person told Reuters that Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, son of the late billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio, who founded Ray Ban owner Luxottica, is among those targeted in the investigation.
Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, who Reuters could not immediately reach for comment, is suspected of having commissioned an intelligence firm to gather information as Del Vecchio’s heirs disagree on the estate, the person said. The tycoon died in 2022.
Prosecutors in Milan allege that the corporate intelligence agency accessed three key details: one set of notifications on suspicious financial activities; one used by the national tax company with citizen banking, utility bills, income statements; and a police investigation database, the person said.
Italy’s national anti-mafia prosecutor Giovanni Melillo told reporters on Saturday that the investigation “rang alarm bells” because it revealed a “big market for secret information” that has achieved “business-like dimensions”, ANSA news agency reported.
The investigation follows another recent investigation into a major data breach at top Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo (OTC:).
