Italian steelmaker Riva Acciaio will resume operations on Monday, September 30, at all of the steelmaking plants which it had closed earlier in the same month due to a long-running legal row, according to Italy's economic development minister, Flavio Zanonato. "The company has shown full readiness to cooperate and try and restart operations, while it has also emphasized the strong ongoing management and financial problems which have been caused by the asset seizure," the economic development ministry said after a meeting with Riva representatives. The facilities in question include plants in Verona and Caronno Pertusella in the province of Varese, the plant at Lesegno in the province of Cuneo, plants at Malegno, Sellero and Cerveno in the province of Brescia, and the plant at Annone Brianza in the province of Lecco.
The company had halted operations as of September 12 at the seven plants in northern Italy and sent home 1,400 workers after assets were seized and current accounts were frozen as part of an investigation into environmental mismanagement at its sister company, the Taranto-based steel giant Ilva. The Riva family, which owns both companies, is under multiple investigation for fraud and toxic pollution at its main plant in Taranto in southern Italy.
Riva Acciaio had said it was forced to close the plants due to an order issued by magistrates earlier this year for the seizure of €8.1 billion of assets belonging to the Riva family, as part of a probe into alleged environmental crimes at the Riva family's steel company Ilva. The closures had sparked protests, while Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta had promised to exert every pressure on the company to persuade it to reverse its decision, insisting it had enough funds to continue production.