Italian police have arrested a former ambassador for selling Schengen visas to Russian citizens
In Italy, former Ambassador to Uzbekistan Piergabriele Papadia de Bottini di Sant'Agnese has been taken into custody on charges of organizing a corruption scheme.
This was reported by La Repubblica.
In exchange for large bribes, the diplomat facilitated the illegal issuance of visas to Russians who had no legal grounds for entering the Schengen Area.
The investigation into corruption and aiding illegal immigration began in July 2025 following an inspection by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the embassy in Tashkent.
Along with the diplomat, the case involves Tatyana Tarakanova, who previously worked at the Italian Consulate in Moscow and headed the visa department in Tashkent.
The investigation established that interested parties paid between 4,000 and 16,000 euros to obtain long-term tourist visas using forged documents.
At least 95 citizens of the Russian Federation entered Europe through this illegal channel between December 2024 and July 2025.
Most of the visa recipients did not even reside in Uzbekistan and did not appear at the consulate in person to submit biometric data.
The documents often contained forged signatures, and the 56-year-old ambassador received lists of “required” surnames via the Telegram messenger from Moscow-based travel agencies.
Companies such as “Happy Travel,” “Visa4you,” and “Park Lane” were involved in the corruption scheme.
Thanks to their assistance and the diplomat’s complicity, Russians who did not meet Schengen requirements were granted the right to move freely within the European Union.
After law enforcement exposed the criminal group’s activities, Papadia de Bottini attempted to evade responsibility.
According to the investigation, the diplomat planned to flee to Moscow to seek political asylum from the Russian authorities.
Man detained in Lviv region for shooting after a fight
In Odesa on the evening of May 8, a man opened fire right inside a pizzeria, fired several shots from a pistol, and ran out onto the street, where police were already waiting for him and quickly detained the attacker. No one was injured in the incident; investigators are working at the scene, and the motives for the shooting are still being determined.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs held expert consultations on the law regarding civilian firearms. During the discussion, key issues that the future law must address were identified.
