A series of intercepted conversations has revealed a startling effort to manipulate Covid-19 vaccination data within the Liguria region of Italy. According to investigators from the Genoa Prosecutor’s Office, high-ranking officials allegedly altered figures sent to the central government to secure a higher volume of vaccine doses during the height of the pandemic emergency.
The revelations center on Giovanni Toti, the Governor of Liguria, and his chief of staff, Matteo Cozzani. The two are now facing charges of falsifying a public document, a discovery that emerged from a broader, complex corruption probe led by the Guardia di Finanza. While the wider investigation focuses on bribery and political financing, this specific “data-rigging” episode highlights a desperate—and potentially illegal—attempt to navigate the vaccine shortages of early 2021.
The core of the allegation is that the regional administration misrepresented its actual vaccine requirements to the Extraordinary Commissioner for the Covid Emergency, General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo. By inflating the numbers, the regional government allegedly hoped to calibrate a larger supply of doses from the national government to meet local demand.
«I already rigged them»: The Intercepted Calls
The evidence rests heavily on wiretaps from March 24, 2021. In one recorded conversation with Maurizio Caviglia, the general secretary of the Genoa Chamber of Commerce, Matteo Cozzani described a process of mutual data manipulation between himself and the Governor. Cozzani is heard complaining that he had already altered the figures, only for Toti to increase them further.
In the transcript, Cozzani notes: «The problem was… that I had already rigged them, he took them, he increased them again… when he sent them back to me. I looked and wrote to him: “But damn… President, these are out of range…”». Toti reportedly responded by saying, «No, I just increased them a bit». Cozzani then replied, «Damn, tell me if you’ve already done it…».
The pattern of inconsistency was further corroborated in other conversations. Cozzani spoke with Filippo Ansaldi, a plenipotentiary of the regional health agency, and Barbara Rebesco, the director of pharmaceutical policies. During these calls, the officials discussed the “extremely high” calculations sent to General Figliuolo, with Rebesco noting that the Commissioner’s staff had pointed out that the data being provided was not aligned with previous submissions.
Despite the attempts to manipulate the numbers, investigators found that the Commissioner’s office ultimately decided on vaccine allocations based on different criteria, meaning the “trick” did not result in a significant shift in the actual number of doses received.
The Private Healthcare Connection
While the vaccine data manipulation is a distinct legal issue, it has surfaced alongside a second, previously unknown line of inquiry: the flow of funds from private healthcare providers to the “Comitato Toti.” Prosecutors are now scrutinizing whether financial contributions to the Governor’s political movement—linked to the Fondazione Change—were exchanged for favorable administrative rulings.
The investigation is focusing on several private and accredited healthcare entities that have seen significant growth in Liguria. A primary example is Casa della Salute, a network of specialist clinics controlled by the Pesenti family’s Italmobiliare group. Since its inception in 2013, the network has expanded to 29 facilities employing approximately 900 staff members, including 450 doctors, with a presence in towns such as Bordighera, Ventimiglia, Sanremo, Albenga, Savona, and Cairo Montenotte.
Other entities under the microscope include:
- Iclas di Rapallo (part of the GVM group), a clinic performing over 700 cardiac and vascular surgeries annually.
- Hc Hospital.
- On Health Care.
Investigators are attempting to determine if these payments were regular political donations or if they constituted a “quid pro quo” for regional decrees or funding. What we have is particularly sensitive given the ongoing political battle in Liguria over the balance between public and private healthcare.
The Public vs. Private Debate
Governor Toti has consistently defended the role of accredited private providers, arguing that they function as public entities given that patients do not pay out-of-pocket. However, opposition leaders, including Pier Luca Garibaldi of the Democratic Party (Pd), argue that this model structurally weakens the public system. Garibaldi has claimed that Ligurian citizens pay more than the national average for care and noted that approximately 50 million euros were allocated to this private-sector model in the first four months of the current year alone.
| Issue | Key Figures | Alleged Action | Legal Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Covid Data | Toti, Cozzani | Manipulating vaccine needs | Falsification of public act |
| Political Funding | Comitato Toti, Private Clinics | Donations for administrative favors | Under investigation (Corruption) |
| Healthcare Policy | Regional Government | Shift toward private accredited care | Political dispute/Budgetary scrutiny |
What This Means for the Administration
The intersection of these probes suggests a systemic concern regarding transparency within the Ligurian regional government. The “vaccine trick” may seem minor in isolation, but when coupled with allegations of bribery and the influence of private healthcare lobbyists, it paints a picture of an administration operating with a disregard for official protocols.
For the public, the primary concern is whether the allocation of healthcare resources was driven by patient require or by the financial interests of political donors. The Prosecutor’s Office in Genoa is currently reviewing the records of roughly 20 companies across various sectors to see if the pattern of “donations for favors” extends beyond the healthcare industry.
Disclaimer: This report is based on ongoing judicial investigations. Under Italian law, individuals are presumed innocent until a final court verdict is reached.
The legal process is expected to move forward as the Prosecutor’s Office completes its analysis of the financial records and the full set of intercepted communications. The next critical stage will involve the formal interrogation of the suspects and the potential filing of further indictments as the “private funds” branch of the investigation matures.
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