Latest news with #Pignataro
Mint
11 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
ION Founder to Pay €280 Million to Settle Tax Probe: Carlino
(Bloomberg) -- ION Group founder Andrea Pignataro has reached an agreement with Italian tax authorities to pay €280 million ($319 million) to end a probe into alleged tax evasion, Il Resto del Carlino reported on Sunday. Prosecutors in Bologna, where the fintech billionaire was born, had originally sought up to €1.2 billion in arrears, interest and other costs relating to a period up to 2023, according to the newspaper. He'll make the payments in instalments over five years, Carlino said. While a criminal case against him remains open, the settlement could work in his favor in that process, the newspaper said. Although Pignataro claims to reside in Switzerland and most of ION's business is in the UK, officials said he was liable to pay taxes in Italy because his family has lived there throughout the period, Carlino said. Investigators pored through travel and phone records and examined his personal relationships to conclude that he spent most of his time in his home country, according to the report. A representative for Pignataro declined to comment. The Italian tax authority couldn't immediately be reached outside business hours. Pignataro has quietly become one of the most important men in Italian finance, building a network of companies that control data, trade securities and help the European Central Bank manage the euro. In Italy, through ION, Pignataro controls financial services firms Cedacri SpA, Cerved Group SpA and Prelios SpA. That means the group handles large amounts of data on Italian borrowers and companies, while providing software for most lenders. He's also bought stakes in Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, Illimity Bank SpA and Cassa di Risparmio di Volterra. After studying at Bologna University, Pignataro worked as a bond trader in London, where he later received a doctorate in math from London's Imperial College. While working for Salomon Brothers, he helped lead a joint venture with Pisa-based software firm List Holdings, filings show. That business would eventually become ION Trading UK, the start of what is now ION Group. Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, competes with ION in providing financial software and data. --With assistance from Luca Casiraghi. (Updates with response from Pignataro representative in fourth paragraph.) More stories like this are available on
Bloomberg
21-03-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
ION's Pignataro Plans €2 Billion Technology Hub on Greek Coast
Italian fintech tycoon Andrea Pignataro is developing a plan for a €2 billion ($2.2 billion) technology hub on the Greek coast that would host as many as 3,000 people. Pignataro is working with architect Renzo Piano on the campus for ION Group in Anavyssos, a seaside town south east of Athens, according to people familiar with the matter. The site would let ION centralize its research and development operations, which are currently spread across countries including the US, the UK and India.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
In Fort Collins elections, write-in candidates are out. Here's why
In future Fort Collins elections, it appears there will no longer be a pathway for write-in candidates for mayor or City Council seats, at least for now. By a 5-2 vote Tuesday, council members approved a change to city code that would remove a provision allowing for write-in candidates. The change will be up for a final vote by the council on March 4. Council member Julie Pignataro, who serves on the Election Code Committee that recommended this change and several others, noted there is a conflict between city code and Fort Collins City Charter that could potentially lead to lawsuits if a write-in candidate were to win. Why? City code provides guidelines for becoming a write-in candidate, but the city charter says a candidate can take office only if they are "nominated," meaning they must gather the signatures of at least 25 registered electors. Pignataro referenced ambiguities in Windsor's town charter that led to a lawsuit and the removal of its newly elected mayor last year. "If a write-in candidate ever won, I think that could be legally challenged in court and then that person would have to step down," she said. Mayor Jeni Arndt said it's "misleading to the public to allow them to run for an office when our charter says you have to be nominated. If I were the write-in candidate who prevailed in an election and then was told, 'No, you weren't nominated but we let you do it anyway,' I'd see a lawyer." Council member Tricia Canonico said a problem like the one in Windsor also risks losing the voting public's confidence in elections. Another option is to change the charter to accommodate the city code. But charter changes are more complex because they must be referred to voters, while city code can be changed by council. Pignataro said council could send a charter amendment to the people asking them if they are OK with candidates who are not "nominated" being elected, but that will also require some explanation. "That's why I'm supporting that we change this in the code now," she said. In the end Tuesday, council opted to change the code. "I don't think this is forever saying we will not have write-in candidates," Pignataro said, because it can be changed in the future. Under the current code, anyone who wants to run as an official candidate for office in Fort Collins must collect at least 25 signatures from registered electors in the city of Fort Collins and turn them in no later than 71 days prior to the election. Their name then appears on the ballot. Write-in candidates, on the other hand, don't collect signatures at all. Instead, they sign an affidavit of intent within 64 days of an election stating they desire to and are qualified to run. Their name does not appear on the ballot, but a blank will be printed on the ballot so voters can write in that person's name. Write-in candidates don't often win, but it has happened elsewhere. In addition to the code-charter conflict, Arndt said write-in candidates would add more complexity to ranked-choice ballots. The November election will be the city's first to use ranked-choice voting, approved by voters in 2022. Arndt said voters would have to both rank the candidates whose names appear on the ballot and also then rank any write-ins using the blanks. Council members also said the city already has a very low bar for getting nominated: just 25 signatures. Filing a petition is the most advantageous for candidates, Pignataro said, and doesn't cost additional money: "If you do get those signatures, your name will actually be there with a little circle. You are definitely more likely to win your campaign." Council members Kelly Ohlson and Susan Gutowsky voted against the change. "My preference would be that we try to go and change charter and then decide how we want to do it in the code," Ohlson said. " It doesn't feel good to me. ... I'd prefer a longer, more arduous process, as I always do, to try to get it fixed." "To me, it takes away that freedom of the voter to choose other than what's presented with the little circles next to it," Gutowsky said. Several other election code changes were passed unanimously Tuesday. These changes do not need to be approved by voters and will: Campaign contribution limits will increase to $200 for mayoral candidates and $150 for City Council candidates. They will be reevaluated every two years and adjusted for inflation. Currently, limits are $100 for mayor and $75 for council. Those limits were set 25 years ago. An inflation analysis shows the proposed limits are lower than what they would be if fully accounting for inflation since then, Arndt said, but the Election Code Committee opted not to go that high. This policy would also ban cryptocurrency donations. The minutes of the December committee meeting indicated the reasoning is because it is difficult to determine the value of cryptocurrency. These reports are already required six times during an election cycle. This change would add more. The changes eliminate a requirement that anyone gathering signatures for a petition read aloud the text of the initiative. Instead, they must make the text "accessible by any reasonable method." A complaint must be rooted in a 'reasonable, good faith belief, based on factual information,' rather than simply having a 'reason to believe" there was a violation. The complaint must include documentation or factual evidence to support the allegation. The city clerk will determine, in consultation with the city attorney's office, whether a complaint is sufficient. Outside counsel will be retained if the complaint involves a candidate for an elected position, in order to eliminate a potential conflict of interest when the city clerk and city attorney report directly to council. The changes also will allow the clerk's office to use internal or external investigation services. Other changes billed as clean-up by the city clerk's office would: Require a nomination petition to be filed 70 days prior to an election, rather than 71 days, including for recall nominations. Modernize language, which includes replacing the word "shall" with "will." Authorize the city clerk to supervise the review and evaluation of complaints and to initiate complaints. The Election Code Committee has also been considering the idea of independent oversight of election complaints. The League of Women Voters of Larimer County and others have been pushing for this. "I'm honestly puzzled that election oversight in the fourth-largest city in Colorado currently city depends on citizen complaints," resident Marge Norskog said during public comment Tuesday. With City Council elections often the first experience someone has running for office, it's easy to make mistakes, she said. So when a campaign finance report is filed against a candidate, it's no wonder candidates feel like they've been unfairly trapped in a "gotcha moment." The current setup pits citizens against candidates, Norskog said. An independent oversight could conduct audits, adjudicate complaints and explain how a complaint was resolved. "We need to take our election oversight to the next level and end our dependence on citizen vigilantes," Norskog said. Several council members said they want to explore formalized oversight of campaign finance complaints, which could also remove potential for conflicts of interest. This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Write-in candidates get nixed in Fort Collins elections. Here's why
