Arrests at leather chemicals company
07/12/2010
Police moved at the end of November to arrest several members of the company’s senior management team after an investigation into a project SilvaTeam was engaged in. The project, which had won more than EUR25 million in funding from the Italian government, was aimed at bringing jobs and investment to Rende in Calabria.
SilvaTeam, based in the north of Italy, was to work with academics to revitalise a defunct chemical research facility in Rende, with work on tanning chemicals as part of the plan. The list of products SilvaTeam produces includes chestnut and quebracho extracts for vegetable tanning, synthetic tannins, fatliquors, oils and resins.
Police have alleged that the Rende project never got off the ground and that a large sum of money remains unaccounted for.
In a statement issued to local media in SilvaTeam’s home region, Piemonte, the company said it regretted the situation surrounding the Rende project, but said it was confident the matter could be clarified. It said it was committed to creating jobs in Calabria and would co-operate fully with the police investigation team.
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