M5S, the former Iena Giarrusso and the donation of tobacco lobbyists – Corriere.it

Tensions in the M5S house by Dino Giarrusso, MEP, former Hyena on TV. At the center of the matter, a loan received on the occasion of the 2019 European elections, worth 4,800 euros, from the lobbyist Ezia Ferrucci, a member of Bdl lobbying srl, and another of approximately the same number from Carmela Vitter, Piero’s wife di Lorenzo, owner, administrator. delegate and president of Irbn in Pomezia (Rome), a company active in molecular biology, molecular science and organic chemistry, now also known to the general public for the goal of developing an anti-Covid vaccine, in association with the Jenner institute of the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca.

The roof for the candidates

On the basis of the Five Star Vademecum for Europeans, each of its candidates could obtain a maximum of 3,000 euros as electoral contribution from the same lender. However, the financing of public administration bodies, public bodies and companies with more than 20% participation from the public sector is prohibited. “It is an internal formulary, linked only to Europeans, which honestly escaped me. In any case, I communicated everything, with total transparency, both to our internal committee and of course to the bodies provided for by law, and no one had anything to say about it, ”the MEP defended today.

And donors

Giarrusso’s node was removed by the TV broadcast Report. The Bdl lobby has among its founding members Maurizio Beretta, former director of Tg1, now manager of Unicredit, and Piero di Lorenzo himself. British American Tobacco is one of its long-standing clients. Di Lorenzo, 70, a former foreign relations and institutional relations consultant, former television producer, took over the Pomezia Irbn in 2009, put up for sale by the multinational Merck Sharp & Dohme where di Lorenzo himself worked at the time. “I finance my friends, people I trust,” the Campanian businessman now says. Hence donations to other parties for higher figures, such as 160 thousand euros given to the Open Foundation close to Matteo Renzi. However, in addition to the maximum limit of € 3,000 for donations, there is also another point. Second Report, Irbn inherited from Merck Sharp & Dohme a collection of chemical compounds “effectively maintained by the state through a public-private consortium.” It is the CNCCS, financed with about 6 million euros a year, of which Irbn owns 70 percent, the CNR 20 percent and the Higher Institute of Health 10. In some projects the consortium of the Region of Lazio (16 million) and Cipe (20 million). Now, of the Giarrusso matter, with the funds received and any other element to be clarified, the M5S board of arbitrators has been alerted.

Behind only Di Battista

Giarrusso, through Facebook, reacted on the donation obtained by explaining how everything happened in a transparent and regular way, “without having anything to hide”, although he did not know that the lobbying of Bdl had British-American tobacco among its clients. The M5S MEP recalled that he had been contacted in the past by Ezia Ferrucci as an admirer of Beppe Grillo, and that he accepted his contribution after having verified that, already in 2018, on the occasion of the political elections, the same company had financed the entire M5S , No problem. “I was alone in that electoral campaign,” recalled the former Hyena, “And I respected the rules.” A reputation as a person involved in the Movement, that of Giarrusso, which, along with television fame, must have contributed to its high consensus within the Five Stars. As it seems Messenger ServiceIn fact, in the General States of the M5S ended on Sunday, Giarrusso would even figure as the second most voted speaker (after Alessandro Di Battista) among those who could participate in the event. The figures have not been released for now, which is controversial. Giarrusso would still have surpassed big names like Luigi Di Maio and Roberto Fico.