Giuseppe De Benedictis ordered to pay 61,000 euros for judicial corruption

The Court of Auditors has ordered Giuseppe De Benedictis, a former preliminary investigation judge at the Court of Bari, to pay 61,000 euros in damages to the Ministry of Justice. This amount represents the maximum legal penalty, calculated as double the 30,500 euros in bribes he was found to have accepted.

The ruling follows De Benedictis’s definitive criminal conviction to seven years in prison for judicial corruption. Investigations and subsequent rulings by the Supreme Court established that between June 2020 and April 2021, De Benedictis accepted payments from attorney Giancarlo Chiariello in exchange for favorable precautionary measures for certain defendants.

The Court of Auditors emphasized the social impact of the conduct, noting that it damaged the credibility of the judicial system. Defense arguments requesting a reduction in damages based on the defendant's health and economic status were rejected.