Former Italian finance minister, Ottaviano del Turco, the governor of the Abruzzo region, was arrested Monday in connection with a corruption probe in the public health sector, reprted dpa.
Police also arrested the central Italian region's top health official, Bernardo Mazzotta, and several other top officials, news reports said.
Del Turco, a centre-left politician resigned his European Parliament seat in 2005 to take up his current position.
Before serving as finance minister from 2000-2001 he headed parliament's anti-mafia commission.