Italy's Webuild CEO acquitted in rail tender rigging case - source

A court in the northwestern Italian town of Genoa acquitted 20 defendants in addition to Webuild's CEO and issued guilty rulings against seven others, the source said. The case hinged on alleged misconduct over the tender process for the so-called Terzo Valico, a 53-kilometre line connecting Genoa to Milan, in March 2021.

Pietro Salini, chief executive of Italy's largest construction company Webuild, was on Friday acquitted of bid ridding charges related to the construction of a high-speed railway line, a senior judicial source who was present at the hearing said. A court in the northwestern Italian town of Genoa acquitted 20 defendants in addition to Webuild's CEO and issued guilty rulings against seven others, the source said.

The case hinged on alleged misconduct over the tender process for the so-called Terzo Valico, a 53-kilometre line connecting Genoa to Milan, in March 2021. Salini, who was sent to trial in March 2021, declined to comment, as did Webuild. In a statement last year, the CEO said he had always acted "in accordance with the law and in the interests of the country".

Webuild, formerly known as Salini Impregilo, heads the COCIV consortium, the general contractor for the design and the construction of the Terzo Valico. Genoa prosecutors have been investigating since 2016 the system that was used to assign tenders within the near 7 billion euros ($6.83 billion) project.

The railway line has been under construction since 2012. ($1 = 1.0251 euros)

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