ROME — A former employee of a major Italian bank has been accused of repeatedly gaining unauthorized access to the bank accounts of about 3,500 individuals, retrieving the data some 6,000 times, authorities said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her sister Arianna's accounts are among those allegedly hacked, as are those of numerous prominent Italian political figures, such as Senate President Ignazio La Russa, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, Tourism and European Affairs Minister Daniela Santanchè and Italian European Commissioner-designate Roberto Fitto.

Alongside high-level politicians, the list of tampered accounts includes that of Giovanni Melillo, the prosecutor of the National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Directorate, and several officers of the Carabinieri and Italy's financial police, Guardia di Finanza.

The ex-Intesa Sanpaolo banker, Domenico Coviello, has now been entered into the Bari Public Prosecutor's Office's register of suspects, and the police searched his home and personal office Thursday, seizing smartphones, tablets, hard disks and computer devices for forensic analysis.

The unusual access made to Intesa's accounts was discovered during routine log-control procedures, according to the bank.

The Bari prosecutor's office opened an investigation after Intesa informed one of its users in Biscelie — where Coviello was employed — that their account might have been tampered with, according to domestic press.

After opening disciplinary proceedings, the 52-year-old resident of Bitonto in the southern Apulia region was fired from the branch in Bisceglie on 8 August.

The motives behind the hack remain unclear for now and are being further probed by the investigators. It is also unclear whether any alterations were made to the account data or if Coviello made any hard copies of the information he had access to.

Coviello's version of events is that he acted out of curiosity. "I did it on my own, I never divulged that information, and I did not copy it," he allegedly told Intesa's top management.

Meanwhile, following the opening of criminal proceedings, Coviello is accused of unauthorised access to the data of 3,572 customers in 679 branches of the group between 21 February 2022 and 24 April 2024.

The investigators accuse him of unauthorised access to computer systems and attempted procurement of information concerning national security. — Euronews