Former Italian Ambassador Arrested Over Illicit Visa Scheme for Russian Nationals
Italian authorities have arrested the country’s former ambassador to Uzbekistan on suspicion of orchestrating a highly lucrative and illegal Schengen visa network for Russian citizens.
According to the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica, prosecutors allege that Piergabriele Papadia de Bottini seized direct control of the embassy’s visa department shortly after assuming his diplomatic post in Tashkent in December 2024. Investigators claim the diplomat collaborated with Tatiana Tarakanova, a dual Russian and Italian citizen, to issue long-term European visas via travel agencies located in Moscow.
While the official consular fee for a Schengen visa typically ranges from €45 to €60, the illicit network reportedly charged applicants anywhere from €4,000 to €16,000 per person to secure the travel documents.
Italian prosecutors believe that a minimum of 95 Russian nationals successfully entered the country using this fraudulent pipeline. The investigation revealed that numerous applicants completely bypassed mandatory in-person consulate interviews and that a significant portion of the submitted paperwork was processed using irregular or falsified methods.
The scheme unravelled after the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched an internal audit during the summer of 2025. Following the probe’s findings Papadia de Bottini was detained in Rome. He currently faces formal charges of corruption and the facilitation of illegal migration.
