Former Italian ambassador to Uzbekistan Piergabriele Papadia de Bottini has been arrested in Rome on suspicion of illegally issuing long-term visas to Russian citizens. The arrest was reported by la Repubblica.

According to investigators, the diplomat facilitated the issuance of long-term tourist visas by bypassing established procedures in exchange for money — from €4,000 to €16,000 — whereas the standard visa fee is €45-60. It is alleged that three Moscow travel agencies were involved in the scheme — Happy travel, Visa4you, and Park lane.

Investigators say they are aware of at least 95 Russian citizens who obtained visas in this way. More than 80 of them allegedly did not visit the diplomatic mission in Tashkent, which contradicts the document submission rules; some applications, according to the investigation, Papadia received via Telegram.

It was separately established that from January to July 2025 the travel agencies transferred €23.6 thousand to a bank account in Bulgaria, declaring the transaction as an interest-bearing loan. The account belonged to Tatyana Tarakanova — a Russian citizen with Italian citizenship living in Bulgaria — who previously worked with Papadia at the Italian consulate in Moscow; after his appointment in Tashkent, he brought her into the visa section.

The Italian prosecutor’s office is also reviewing about 400 more visa files that may be linked to the former ambassador. Piergabriele Papadia de Bottini was appointed Italy’s ambassador to Uzbekistan in December 2024 and left the post in December 2025.