Unipegaso in the turmoil: executives, editors, and journalists under investigation. The shadow of pressure casts over Minister Bernini.

Naples – A dense network of pressure, attempts at political and institutional influence, and media maneuvers to curb the government's crackdown on remote university exams. This is the scenario outlined by the Naples Prosecutor's Office, which has led to a major judicial upheaval in the online education sector.

The investigation, coordinated by Deputy Prosecutor Henry John Woodcock of the Naples DDA, alleges various charges of corruption between private individuals and has 22 people under investigation. Investigators—who have recently launched extensive searches by the Guardia di Finanza—are targeting the top management of the UniPegaso-Multiversity group, but the list has dramatically expanded to include leading figures in the communications sector, publishers, and editors-in-chief of newspapers.

The illustrious names and the accusations of the magistrates

Those under investigation include UniPegaso-Multiversity Group Chairman Fabio Domenico Vaccarono, CEO Francesco Durante, and other senior managers such as Andrea Ferrante, Giampiero Mazza, and former executive Andrea Buonomo. Also implicated are the heads of leading public relations agencies, such as Gianluca Comin and Gianluca Giansante of Comin & Partners, as well as CEOs of publishing agencies and giants (including Manzoni & C., Gedi, RCS Media Group, Il Sole 24 Ore, Piemme, and Seif), and general and editorial directors of major publications and agencies.

According to the investigation, the group attempted to pressure the Minister of Universities and Research, Anna Maria Bernini, to extend the "exceptional" post-Covid measures that allowed university exams to be held entirely remotely. This institutional confrontation, according to the suspects' plans, also involved influencing the press and public opinion.

Background: The investigation into registrations and the Iervolino era

This new line of investigation fits into a situation already severely compromised for the online university. The current activities of the Guardia di Finanza, in fact, are a natural extension of what emerged last June with the discovery of the first phase of the investigation into Pegaso University.

That first strand focused on the enrollment system—deemed irregular by the judiciary for over 4.200 enrollments in undergraduate and postgraduate courses without meeting legal requirements—designed and managed during the period in which the university's governance was headed by Danilo Iervolino, former owner of Salernitana.

The investigation, which had already involved around forty suspects, had revealed significant grey areas regarding the commercial and academic management of digital qualifications.

Fiery political reactions and institutional conflict

The news immediately triggered a heated debate in the national political debate.
On the one hand, the opposition is calling for drastic regulatory interventions. Elisabetta Piccolotti, a member of the Green and Left Alliance, called the Naples investigation "yet another investigation demonstrating the urgency of preventing online universities from allowing for-profit purposes in their statutes," announcing an immediate parliamentary question.

The Five Star Movement is on the same wavelength: through the leader of the House Culture Committee, Antonio Caso, the group is asking Minister Bernini to clarify whether the government intends to uphold "rules, controls, and quality standards equal for all" or give in to exemptions and attempts to roll back.

Italia Viva leader Matteo Renzi, on the other hand, took a diametrically opposed view, delivering a trenchant commentary on his rejection of the judicial initiative, calling it "absolute madness" and taking a swipe at the investigating magistrate: "It certainly wouldn't be the first time for Woodcock."