Lacco Ameno tourist port: The Court of Auditors demands €1,7 million: "Fees never paid."

Ischia – Management of the tourist marina that, according to the Regional Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Auditors of Campania, has caused significant damage to the public coffers. This is the allegation at the heart of the summons served by the Court of Auditors against the company that managed the tourist marina of the Municipality of Lacco Ameno and the acting administrator.

The case, coordinated by Regional Prosecutor Giacinto Dammicco and Deputy Prosecutor General Miranda, estimates the alleged damage to the public treasury at €1.764.965, a sum the Prosecutor's Office believes was embezzled from municipal finances through the failure to pay concession fees and other amounts due for the use of the state-owned property. The investigation was conducted with the support of the Guardia di Finanza of the Ischia Company.

The protests: unpaid rents and occupation of state property

The core of the compensation action concerns the management of a state-owned maritime area of ​​over 56 square meters, intended for the tourist port of the Municipality of Lacco Ameno.

According to the prosecution's case, the concessionaire allegedly failed to pay the annual fees required by the concession for years, and continued to use the area even without a valid permit.

Added to these allegations is a further financial issue: the Municipality continued to directly cover the costs of the landing stage's water and electricity utilities without receiving reimbursement from the private operator. According to accounting investigators, this situation led to a progressive depletion of the municipal coffers.

A story that started a long time ago

The summons before the Court of Auditors represents the latest development in an administrative process that began several years ago and culminated with the return of management of the marina to the Municipality.

In 2024, the Municipality of Lacco Ameno formally regained ownership of the state maritime concession for the marina, subsequently initiating public management of the marina, with new regulations, tenders, and berth assignments for residents and rental operators. The municipal concession is currently in effect until September 2028.

The current organization of the port, completely redefined by the municipal administration, effectively represents the culmination of a long period of litigation and investigations into the previous private management.

The accounting process

It should be noted that the proceedings before the Court of Auditors are compensatory and not criminal in nature.

The objective of the Public Prosecutor's Office is to obtain an order against the defendants for compensation for the alleged financial damage caused to the public entity.

The jurisdictional section of the Campania Court of Auditors will now assess the validity of the complaints, the possible existence of administrative liability, and the final quantification of the damages.

The concessionaire company and its director will be able to appear in court and present their defense before the accounting magistrates' decision.

A landmark case in the management of public assets

The audit is particularly significant because it concerns one of the island of Ischia's main economic assets: the Lacco Ameno marina, a strategic facility for nautical tourism and the local economy.

Precisely for this reason, the Court of Auditors' Office has focused its attention on the proper use of the state-owned property and compliance with the financial obligations set forth in the concession, believing that any failure to collect fees and compensation has caused significant financial damage to the Municipality.