International law firm Withers advised the high-profile Mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro on the structure, which is believed to be the first blind trust-style structure to be established by an Italian politician.
Brugnaro has courted controversy for pledges to shoot terrorists and calling tourists who complained about an expensive meal as “cheapskates”.
Ivan Sacks, partner and chairman of Withers, will also act as trustee for the Brugnaro Blind Trust, which is being established under New York law.
“We are pleased to have represented Mayor Brugnaro in this laudable and entirely voluntary effort,” said Sacks.
“By borrowing from international best practices in conflict of interest avoidance to utilise the legal form of the trust, which is not yet contemplated under Italian law, and challenging us to combine our experience in implementing blind trusts for Americans and other leaders, in collaboration with our Italian law capabilities, he has set a path-breaking approach to economic independence in Italian politics.”
Aims of the trust
According to Withers the effect of the trust will be to remove Brugnaro’s business interests from any personal ownership control and further subject them to information and influence constraints for the remainder of his time in public office.
The trust is also designed to promote his vision of good stewardship, succession and governance planning for Umana, the human resource company he founded, and its subsidiaries and related companies.
In addition to Umana, assets being transferred to the trust include the men’s Reyer Venezia Mestre basketball team, which won the Italian national championship last year, as well as the women’s team of the same name.
A number of other business as well as cultural impact investments of significance to Venice that were owned by the mayor are also included.
