Sigfrido Ranucci plans legal action against Rai and seeks reinstatement as Report host

Legal challenge and dismissal dispute

Former investigative host Sigfrido Ranucci announced on 13 September 2026 that he will pursue formal legal action against Italian public broadcaster Rai and request an urgent court injunction to secure reinstatement to his position on Report. Speaking at the Festa del Fatto Quotidiano festival in Marina di Pietrasanta, in the province of Lucca, Ranucci accused three specific administrative departments within Rai of orchestrating his dismissal by selectively releasing confidential internal accounting records. He stated that managers used a confidential document detailing one year of travel expenses to generate a narrative that the program was operating out of control, noting that the entire annual reimbursement budget for the investigative team was equivalent to the single salary of Rai presenter Bruno Vespa. Ranucci explained that if the judge grants the urgent petition, he will return to host the show and fight his battle from within, while preparing to pursue a full appeal on the merits if the initial request is denied.

I will take legal action in all forums, let whoever is responsible for these actions pay.

Denial of business ties and testimony on bomb attack

Ranucci also directly addressed his past relationship with businessman Valter Lavitola, whom Italian magistrates identified as the alleged instigator of an October bomb attack targeting Ranucci's automobile. Rejecting accusations of financial misconduct, Ranucci insisted that he never earned a single euro or participated in commercial activities alongside Lavitola, maintaining that their contact was rooted solely in personal friendship. In response to moral criticism, Ranucci commented that in his investigative work he would dine with anyone, including Mafia boss Totò Riina, as long as the journalistic objective justified the meeting. He also dismissed testimony given to prosecutors by Lavitola's former partner, Natalia Potenza, who asserted that Ranucci and Lavitola held a private meeting with mobile phones switched off following the car bombing. Ranucci countered that documentation shows he was on a seven-day performance tour during that period, rendering any such meeting impossible.

I have absolutely never had interests in Lavitola's affairs, never a single euro, I did everything exclusively in a relationship of friendship in which I believed.

Press coverage, litigation plans and broadcast schedule

Following a performance of his theatrical production Diario di un trapezista on 12 September 2026 in Prato, Ranucci confirmed that he expects to be interviewed again by investigating magistrates regarding the Lavitola case. The journalist announced that he is cataloguing false reports to file hundreds of civil lawsuits and damages claims against publications, pointing to defamatory claims suggesting he staged the car bombing himself or orchestrated it due to a lack of insurance. Ranucci highlighted approximately 3,000 hostile articles produced by a media group connected to a center-right lawmaker, which he said provoked insults against his family and spurred right-wing journalists to pressure center-right mayors into revoking his honorary citizenship awards. Expressing disappointment over the silence of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni throughout the controversy, Ranucci rejected suggestions that he enter politics, asserting that his investigative journalism creates the most institutional friction. Report is set to resume broadcasting on 8 November 2026 with four completed episodes already recorded, and Ranucci noted he would welcome an independent investigation by his own editorial team into the matter.