The Milan public prosecutor is reported to be investigating 18 bank accounts held by clients of Banca Populare di Lodi as part of an investigation into the possibility that €500m ($647.1m) has been used to inflate the share price of takeover target Banca Antonveneta.

Banca Antonveneta is the target of takeover ambitions by both Banca Populare di Lodi and Dutch bank ABN Amro.