The Maltese authorities are investigating the brother of Raffaelo Marra, the so-called ‘shadow mayor’ of Rome who has been arrested on suspicion of corruption, according to La Repubblica.
Raffaelo Marra, formerly a top adviser to Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi, was arrested last week, shortly after resigning his post. He has become embroiled in a property purchase scandal, along with contractor Sergio Scarpellini.
Marra’s wife, Chiara, and their three children live in a St Julian’s apartment. His brother, Catello, also lives in Malta. He is involved in an organization that calls itself the Sovereign Order of St John of Jerusalem and runs something called the International Organisation for Diplomatic Relations, which is based here.
According to the latest reports in La Repubblica, the Maltese police is investigating some of the organisations Catello Marra is involved in to see whether they are truly a philanthropic in nature or whether they are something else entirely.
Raffaelo Marra
The Italian news outlet pointed out that one of these entities served to bring together businessmen with politicians. Some businessmen even got to dine with President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca thanks to Marra.
The Italian investigators asked their Maltese counterparts to look into the International Organization for the Diplomatic Relations.
Members are requested to pay some €7,500 to join and an additional €1,500 for the uniforms, which come from Naples. The IODR also gives out seemingly genuine documents, such as passports marked as diplomatic, which are in fact fakes, La Repubblica said.
Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi
The membership fees are paid by bank transfer to ‘International Organization of Diplomatic Correspondent,’ which has a different name to that of the organization. This has raised questions as to who is receiving the money.
La Repubblica also mentions a Paceville restaurant owned by Marra and talks of transactions between Malta and Italy.
It was reported yesterday that BankItalia has warned the authorities of possible money laundering activities in Malta.
The Italian newspaper also refers to the Knights order Catello Marra runs as “illegal” and says the Maltese government has confirmed it “does not exist” but the organization is alive and pocketing money.