April 4, 2012 1:16 PM EDT

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/324071/20120404/italy-northern-league-frayd-embezzlement-umberto-bossi.htm

Italy’s Lega Nord (Northern League), the party that gained popularity by defining itself as an organization that is free of corruption, got hit by allegations of money laundering, fraud and embezzlement.

According to reports, Italian prosecutors are investigating the Northern League over a raft of charges of financial irregularities.

The party was allied with the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who resigned in November of last year.

The party’s treasurer Francesco Belsito, has already quit his post following allegations that he abused his position and misappropriated party funds.

Belsito was accused of fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering against the State by three prosecutors in Milan, Naples, and Reggio Calabria.

The prosecutor in Milan accused Belsito specifically of “disbursing Northern League funds to family members of the party’s leader, [Umberto] Bossi, for personal needs.”