MILAN (AP) -- Milan prosecutors have ordered the seizure of 1.2 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in assets belonging to the family that runs a troubled steel plant in southern Italy.
Prosecutors allege in the order Wednesday that the real estate, stocks and other financial assets belonging to the Riva family were obtained through the misuse of funds belonging to the Ilva steel plant. Brothers Emilio and Adriano Riva, founders of the company that owns the plant, are currently under investigation for fraud.
The Ilva plant is embroiled in an environmental scandal with several company officials under investigation in a criminal pollution probe investigating an increase in cancer rates in the area.
Court-ordered seizures and shutdowns have threatened operations at the plant, which employs some 12,000 people.
