Network of Influence: Graffer Corruption Probe Deepens as Investigations Spread to Piedmont

The mounting legal crisis surrounding Italy’s winter sports infrastructure has escalated significantly. Graffer, the Brescia-based engineering company already embroiled in an Olympic bid-rigging scandal in Cortina d'Ampezzo, is now the target of a second, separate criminal investigation alleging systemic corruption in the Piedmont region.

Italian prosecutors in Verbania have issued notices of investigation and carried out a raid linked to the overhaul contract for the Prestinone–Piana di Vigezzo cable car, a project managed by V&F Srl that had contracted the Brescia‑based firm Graffer. The Piedmont magistrates’ notices reportedly include allegations of corruption and were delivered to the legal entities involved.  Magistrates at the Court of Verbania launched a coordinated sweep, sending out formal notices of investigation and deploying the Guardia di Finanza (Italian Financial Police) to raid corporate offices.

The expanding judicial net suggests that the controversial procurement practices fueling the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic scandals may be part of a much broader, long-standing pattern of illicit agreements within Italy’s cable car industry.

The Piedmont Connection: A Million-Euro Contract Contested

The new criminal front centers on the general overhaul of the Prestinone-Piana di Vigezzo cable car in Piedmont's Vigezzo Valley. The technical maintenance project, valued at roughly €1 million, was negotiated between 2023 and 2024 by the facility's management company, V&F Srl.

According to internal leaks from former management executives, the resort had initially intended to hire industry giant Leitner to execute the highly technical overhaul. However, citing a severe lack of funds, managers shifted to a private negotiation with Graffer, which positioned itself as the most cost-effective option on paper.

Investigators now allege that behind this private agreement lay a web of corruption.

From a Halting Civil Dispute to Financial Police Raids

The operational relationship between V&F and Graffer reportedly collapsed long before the magistrates intervened:

• The Stoppage: Graffer secured the contract and received an upfront advance payment. However, after completing only a fraction of the mandated technical objectives, Graffer demanded the remaining balance of the first installment.

• The Fallout: When V&F refused to pay the balance until the work was completed, Graffer pulled its crews and halted all construction.

• The Switch: V&F promptly terminated Graffer's contract and brought Leitner back in to finish the job, launching a protective civil lawsuit against Graffer that became bogged down in injunctions.

The corporate dispute turned explosive when the Verbania Prosecutor's Office converted the civil gridlock into a criminal matter. Financial Police raided the offices of V&F Srl, seizing computers, technical logs, and communication archives regarding relationships between the resort's past technical managers and Graffer executives.

The search warrant also targets potential structural safety violations, specifically focusing on unauthorized permits and regulatory non-compliance surrounding the nearby Trubbio chairlift between 2021 and 2024.

A Map of Graffer's Legal Battles

The legal landscape for the cable car manufacturer has expanded across multiple regions and distinct judicial bodies:

Accounting probe into public fund mismanagement and potential state financial damages related to direct Olympic contracts.

The widening scope of the Graffer investigations has sent shockwaves through regional governments. What began as a local investigation into the Apollonio-Socrepes Olympic cable car in Cortina has unraveled into a multi-city structural crisis.

Accounting magistrates from the Court of Auditors are now investigating whether the pattern of using non-competitive, direct assignments has caused severe public financial damage. Furthermore, the audit is expanding beyond Cortina, placing pending transit projects in Bormio at immediate risk of judicial suspension.