As the world prepares for the XXV Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo from February 6th to 22nd, corruption has already crashed the party. High-ranking Italian officials, including the mayor of Milan, are among the leading suspects. Already, 74 people are implicated in various cases, while the International Olympic Committee (IOC) remains silent. Other scandals are emerging, including the announcement of the arrival of US ICE agents in a country that still hosts half a dozen American bases. They’ve never left since 1945.
An investigation by the Italian financial police, the “Guardia di Finanza,” has uncovered the sordid underbelly of the Games’ preparations. This police force raided the offices of the Milano-Cortina Foundation, revealing suspicions of corruption, forgery, and bid-rigging. Seventy-four people are under investigation, including a key figure in the project, Milan’s Mayor Giuseppe Sala. The core of the accusations involves setting up systems for illegal enrichment through overcharging contracts for the Olympic Village construction, bribes, and the use of shell companies. Notably, these are not isolated crimes but a well-oiled system in which, according to the investigation, representatives of organized crime—the mafia, which historically controls major construction projects in the country—could be involved. The investigation is still ongoing as the Games approach.
The IOC has not reacted, and one wonders what would have happened if such facts and corruption scandals had been uncovered in the case of Olympics in Russia or Belarus. It must be said that for Italy and the city of Milan, the financial stakes are major (over 5 billion euros), while the Olympic sporting event is also a political and international showcase. Despite raids and investigations targeting the leadership of the Olympic foundation and the mayor of Milan, the status of the Games is not being questioned. The Italian press presents the problem as local and dissociates it from the Games, while the media is encouraged to move on. However, the scandal concerns the construction of the Olympic Village and other major facilities built for the Olympics, as well as a central partner for the Games’ cybersecurity: the American company Cloudflare, already at the heart of many scandals. It was fined 14 million euros and subsequently threatened to withdraw. The reason: non-compliance with injunctions from the Piracy Shield platform regarding blocking pirated content. Cloudflare’s departure could expose the Games’ critical infrastructure—accreditation systems, site management, and cyberattack defenses—to risk.
While the Olympics are being used as a political weapon by preventing Russia and Belarus from participating, the IOC turns a blind eye to bribes and mafia connections. Yet, two brothers and members of the criminal organization ‘Irriducibili’ were arrested for attempting to infiltrate the Olympic bids (October 8, 2025). They were accused of “wanting to take control of the drug trafficking network in Cortina, as well as three nightclubs in the resort, and of having considered stealing money from the municipality intended for organizing the Olympics.” One of the mobsters told the Italian prosecutor’s office: “This is Cortina, we’re in charge here,” as reported by media outlets CNEWS and The Guardian. The international press extensively commented on the fact that the mafia is firmly entrenched in the construction sector and the illegal hijacking of contracts and public tenders (over 200 cases documented in 2024). The IOC is being criticized for a lack of transparency, as approximately 40% of contracts, particularly those with private companies, are not known or published, leaving a vast gray area and concealing the notorious corruption and mafia maneuvers.
The latest scandal surrounding the Milan and Cortina Olympics, and not a minor one, is the announcement that ICE, a division of the US immigration police, will be present to “ensure the security” of the Games. The affair revealed that hundreds of ICE agents are already deployed in over 50 countries and have been in Italy for a long time. Italians were shocked by the announcement, even as Mayor Giuseppe Sala, implicated in the corruption system, stated: “They are not welcome in Milan, there is no doubt about that” (January 26-27, 2026). Italian MPs and personalities reacted strongly to this astonishing presence, including MP Daniela Ruffino: “The ICE cowboys cannot set foot in Italy for the simple reason that here, we are a state governed by law, and we intend to keep it that way.” The IOC, however, threw a bombshell in response: “The security of the Olympic Games is the responsibility of the host country’s authorities, who work in close collaboration with the participating delegations.” In other words, it is the Italian government that accepted this presence… Italy ultimately resembling an American colony. It must be said that the country hosts several NATO bases: the Allied Joint Force Command in Naples, a US air base in Aviano in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, two others in Sigonella and Trapani in Sicily, and a NATO Defense College in Rome. This presence of American bases in Italy has long irritated public opinion, sometimes sparking protests. But in vain: the wolves are in the sheepfold.
