As part of an investigation into some anomalous stock market fluctuations between 2010 and 2011, the Trani public prosecutor's office ordered the seizure of documents in the Milan offices of Moody's and Standard and Poor's. With this deed, the magistrates, who also issued a display order to Consob, intend - in the words of the chief prosecutor of Trani, Carlo Maria Capistro - "to verify whether these rating agencies carry out their work in compliance with the regulations and have all the requirements to carry out a rating” in Italy.
The investigations, followed by prosecutor Michele Ruggiero, consist of two strands: one concerning Moody's and the other Standard and Poor's and its analysts. To give the impetus, two complaints, wanted by the consumer associations Adusbef and Federconsumatori. Different moments presented, the first against Moody's in May 2010 and the second against Standard and Poor's in the same month of this year, concern the effects produced by the rating activity of the two companies on the Italian markets. The exhibits were then integrated after the days of 8 and 11 July last, in which Italian stocks, bonds and shares were the subject of massive sales. The prosecutors of Trani are asked to ascertain the possible commission of crimes during the two trading sessions.
The Adusbef association specifies in a note that the attempt by the prosecutor Ruggiero consists in ascertaining whether, behind the speculative maneuvers on Piazza Affari, there is "a precise design of hedge funds and other unidentified subjects that can be connected in some way to the judgments negatives expressed on the Italian public accounts by the rating agencies".
