Milan Prosecutors Seek Dismissal for Sala

Milan’s property investigation has reached a turning point, with prosecutors asking a judge to close proceedings against Mayor Giuseppe Sala, developer Manfredi Catella, architect Stefano Boeri and other suspects. The request, reported on 10 November, follows a reassessment of evidence surrounding building approvals and professional relationships within the city’s planning system. It is a recommendation for dismissal, with the decision still resting with a judge.

The case also encompasses former urban regeneration councillor Giancarlo Tancredi and former landscape commission members Giuseppe Marinoni and Alessandro Scandurra. ANSA reported that the investigation included the Pirellino redevelopment and had led to arrests in summer 2025 that were subsequently overturned. Allegations varied between individuals. Sala and Boeri were not investigated for corruption, Reuters reported, a distinction that matters in a case where several different suspected offences have appeared beneath the same headline.

At the centre of the prosecutors’ reasoning is the gap between troubling relationships and evidence capable of sustaining criminal proceedings. According to La Repubblica’s account of their statement, conflicts of interest, failures to withdraw from decisions, business connections and irregular planning procedures did not sufficiently establish an exchange of benefits for the exercise of public functions. On Sala’s position, prosecutors followed earlier judicial assessments that the evidence was inadequate. The newspaper also reported criticism from Scandurra’s lawyer over the length of time his client remained under investigation after courts rejected the grounds underpinning his arrest.

The request does not dispose of Milan’s wider planning disputes. La Repubblica reported that proceedings over alleged building abuses remained open, alongside a separate investigation involving former municipal official Giovanni Oggioni. For developers and property owners, the distinction is consequential: the prospects of prosecuting individuals and the legality of particular developments are separate questions. Closing this strand would therefore leave other cases to determine their own outcomes.