An investigation by the Naples Anti-Mafia District Directorate is putting the Naples-Bari high-speed railway under scrutiny, with alleged favors in subcontracting, corruption, and possible mafia links at the center of the case.

According to the reconstruction reported by Il Mattino, seven sections of the Naples-Bari line are involved in the inquiry. The reports describe a chain of subcontracts along the railway project, with construction sites identified between Naples, Cancello, Frasso Telesino, Vitulano, Irpinia, Orsara and Foggia.

The consortia named in connection with the sites under examination are Nacav, Telese and Hirpinia Av, according to ITV Online.

The alleged utilities: dinners, phones and a car

At the heart of the allegations are suspected exchanges of contracts and facilitations for money or other benefits.

Among the alleged benefits cited in the investigation are dinners, telephones and the exclusive use of a high-powered car. A reconstruction reported by Cronache di Caserta refers to alleged awards, subcontracts, accelerated payments and small direct works favored in exchange for money or other utilities.

The alleged offences under investigation include corruption, bid-rigging, false invoicing and, in some cases, aggravating circumstances linked to mafia methods or external complicity.

Investigators describe Areco as the alleged connecting point between companies working on the high-speed railway and people considered close to the Belforte clan of Marcianise.

According to the District Anti-Mafia Directorate's hypothesis, reported by Cronache di Caserta, the Belforte group allegedly tried to insert affiliated companies into high-speed rail works through a network of relationships connected to Areco.

The role attributed to individual companies beyond the prosecution's case has not been independently verified in the documents obtained, and the allegations remain to be tested in court.

How large is the inquiry? The reported figures differ

The sources acquired report different figures for the scale of the investigation.

Il Mattino reports 45 people under investigation and 41 requested arrests. ITV Online, in a report dated 11 September 2026, reports 49 people under investigation and 45 precautionary measures requested by the Naples DDA.

The documents obtained do not explain why the numbers differ between outlets. No final decision by the judge for preliminary investigations on preventive questioning or any precautionary orders is recorded in the material acquired.

Where the checks are focused

For readers following the Naples-Bari project, the geography matters. The subcontracting chain described in the reports runs the length of the corridor, from the Naples area through Cancello and Frasso Telesino in Campania, through Vitulano and Irpinia, and east toward Orsara and Foggia in Puglia.

The three consortium names cited — Nacav, Telese and Hirpinia Av — correspond to groupings linked to the construction sites covered by the checks, according to ITV Online. They are identified as subjects connected to the sites concerned, not as parties already found liable.

What the allegations mean, and what they do not establish

In plain terms, the reported hypotheses concern how subcontracts were allegedly assigned and managed: who received work, who was paid faster, who obtained additional small jobs, and what was allegedly given in return.

Corruption concerns the alleged exchange of official acts for money or benefits. Bid-rigging concerns alleged interference with public tender procedures. False invoicing concerns allegedly fictitious billing. The additional mafia-related aggravating circumstances, where alleged, concern the methods used or the claimed advantage to a criminal group.

None of these allegations equates to established liability. The case remains at the investigative and precautionary stage, and the available evidence concerns alleged subcontracting practices described by prosecutors, not findings against specific defendants.