Milan’s Public Prosecutor’s Office has requested that charges against property developer Manfredi Catella, founder of Italian real estate manager Coima, be dropped due to a lack of evidence.
The prosecutor recommended closing the case after concluding there was no reasonable prospect of conviction regarding allegations of corruption.
Catella had previously been placed under house arrest in an investigation into urban planning decisions that provoked widespread controversy in Italy’s property sector, drawing in real estate firms Kryalos, Coima and Castello.
Prosecutors have also requested that charges against real estate managers Kryalos and Castello be dropped.
The previous charges had suggested the existence of a network that granted unlawful building permits for speculative building works in Italy’s second-largest city.
In a statement seen by IPE Real Assets, the public prosecutor said it had asked the preliminary investigation judge to dismiss the case.
First filed in July 2025, the accusations related to allegations of “forgery, corruption and undue inducement in connection with the activities of the landscape commission of the municipality of Milan and professional relationships in the urban planning and real estate sector”.
The prosecutor’s statement on 10 November said that the lack of evidence proving corruption justified dismissing the case.
“The existence of conflicts of interest, professional relationships between members of the landscape commission of the municipality of Milan and parties involved in construction projects, and critical issues identified within the urban planning procedures, while clearly pointing to significant anomalies, are not sufficient to prove a link between the benefits provided and the exercise of public office.”
The investigation had attempted to untangle what had been seen as conflicts of interest between decisions made by the municipality of Milan and various builders and developers.
The prosecutor asked that charges against Milan’s mayor Giuseppe Sala and architects Stefano Boeri and Alessandro Scandurra also be dropped.
In a statement, Catella said the decision by the public prosecutor’s office “marks a conclusion to a legal case” that had put his company under “one of the most demanding challenges that an organisation can face, both professionally and personally”.
He added: “In our case, within a relatively short period, 11 judges and the prosecution itself acknowledged that we were not involved in the allegations initially brought against us on 16 July 2025, demonstrating the strength and integrity of the Italian justice system.”
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