Prosecutors allege the discussions set out in the warrant demonstrate a hidden plot, with MPS used as a vehicle to execute a broader plan to ultimately seize control of Generali. Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images/Postmedia files

Italian prosecutors have taken aim at an alleged secret alliance at the heart of the country’s finance sector , claiming billionaire investors conspired with the boss of lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena to buy a rival and ultimately seize control of insurer Generali.

A 35-page search and seizure warrant seen by the Financial Times alleges that top shareholders in the state-backed bank worked with its chief executive to engineer a €17 billion takeover of prestigious Milanese lender Mediobanca .

But according to prosecutors the real target was n

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