Italian real estate firm Coima has confirmed it is cooperating with authorities following reports that Milan prosecutors are investigating the company for alleged misconduct related to the city’s urban planning management. The probe implicates several individuals and entities, including Coima, as part of a wider inquiry.
According to a statement by Milan’s chief prosecutor, the city’s police on Wednesday raided several offices and homes as part of an investigation involving several developers, asset managers, architects, public officials and members of the mayor’s office.
According to a report by Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper, investigators are seeking house arrests for Manfredi Catella, Coima’s founder and CEO, and Giancarlo Tancredi, a councillor for the Municipality of Milan.
The investigators are also requesting jail time for Andrea Bezziccheri, an entrepreneur and administrator at real estate company Bluestone; architect Alessandro Scandurra; Giuseppe Marinoni, former chairman of Milan’s landscape commission; and Federico Pella, manager and partner at engineering company J+S spa.
The Milano Finanza newspaper also reported that Giampiro Schiavo, CEO of Castello, majority-owned by Italian asset management group Anima, and Paolo Bottelli, CEO of Kryalos, are under investigation.
All named individuals are reportedly part of an ongoing investigation concerning suspected bribery and forgery.
Castello said in a statement that it is ready to cooperate with the authorities on the case, adding that it has always operated with professionalism and integrity, and it is confident that such conduct will emerge clearly during subsequent investigations.
Kryalos declined to comment.
In a statement, Catella confirmed that Coima received notification from the Court of Milan regarding an ongoing investigation into a design assignment previously given to architect Scandurra.
Catella added: “Given the architect’s role as one of the 11 members of the City of Milan’s landscape commission until 2024, it is assumed that the professional assignment may have influenced the professional’s conduct on the commission regarding projects promoted by our company.
“We have promptly provided all information requested and conducted internal checks to confirm compliance, which we will be able to solidly substantiate. Transparency and legality are fundamental to our group and to all of us, and we will be able to resolutely affirm this in this circumstance as well.”
Coima has been involved in major real estate projects that have reshaped Milan’s skyline in recent years. These include the Porta Nuova redevelopment, acquired by the Qatari sovereign wealth fund, along with Pirellino and the Scalo di Porta Romana for the Olympic Village, among others.
CDP Real Asset, an investment arm of Italian state-owned Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, invested €50m alongside Coima’s ESG City Impact Fund to help transform the 2026 Winter Olympic Village at Porta Romana into student accommodation after the games.
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