Milan prosecutors have requested indictment of Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè and the company Visibilia Editore for alleged falsification of financial statements from 2016 to 2022.

This is according to a press release from the prosecutor's office, which has requested the indictment of 16 other people including directors and auditors and the companies Visibilia Srl in liquidation and Visibilia Editrice Srl.

For Visibilia Srl, the alleged falsification of financial statements covers the years 2016-2020, and for Visibilia Editrice 2021 and 2022.

The correct preparation of the financial statements, in the accusatory hypothesis, would have shown a loss of share capital for Visibilia Editore as of the 2016 financial statements, for Visibilia Srl as of the 2014 financial statements, and for Visibilia Editrice as of the 2021 financial statements, the memo says.

"There is a public interest in disclosing the news regarding these proceedings, without prejudice to the presumption of innocence of the recipients of the request, who are to be considered not guilty until any conviction has become irrevocable," the note concludes.

It was not possible to get a comment at this time from Santanchè and Visibilia.

(Gianluca Semeraro, editing Sabina Suzzi)