Former Italian ambassador to Uzbekistan arrested over alleged Schengen visa scheme

Piergabriele Papadia de Bottini di Sant'Agnese, former Italian ambassador to Uzbekistan, has been arrested in Rome over allegations that he organised a scheme for issuing Schengen visas at the Italian embassy in Tashkent.

Source: La Repubblica, as reported by European Pravda

Details: According to investigators, while serving as ambassador to Uzbekistan, the ambassador took control of the visa department and transferred Tatyana Tarakanova there. Tarakanova, who holds Russian and Italian citizenship, had previously worked with him at the Italian consulate in Moscow.

Both are currently under investigation by Rome prosecutors on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and corruption linked to actions contrary to official duties.

Officers from Italy's Financial Guard carried out precautionary measures ordered by Rome investigating judge Annalisa Marzano. Papadia was arrested in Rome and placed in prison pending the outcome of the investigation. He had been suspended from his post by December 2025.

Investigators believe that, with Tarakanova's assistance, Papadia organised a system for issuing long-term tourist visas – valid from one to three years – to Russian citizens, even when they did not meet the legal requirements for entry into the Schengen Area.

He supposedly charged between €4,000 and €16,000 per person for the service.

Three travel agencies with offices in Moscow were reportedly involved in the scheme. At least 95 Russian citizens are said to have entered Italy through these centres despite lacking the necessary visa requirements.

Prosecutors and financial police are continuing to investigate around 400 cases and are examining Papadia's declared assets, estimated at around €3 million, which he claims originated from an inheritance.

Background:

• Earlier, at the end of April, Latvia added three Russian citizens to its blacklist of people banned from entering the country, including former Russian culture minister Mikhail Shvydkoy.
• It was also reported that Lithuania is considering introducing a five-year entry ban for performers who had appeared in Russia or Belarus.

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