[2] Following investigative reports, published by the European Stability Initiative on "Caviar diplomacy",[3][4] in June 2016, the Milan prosecutor's office brought charges against Luca Volontè on 2 episodes: money laundering and accepting bribes.

In 2017, it was also revealed that Volontè had been involved in the Azerbaijani laundromat scandal - a complex money-laundering scheme used to pay off European politicians in an attempt to whitewash Azerbaijan’s reputation abroad.

According to the Prosecutor's Office Volontè received €2.39 million to organise support for Azerbaijani officials in the Council of Europe.

[7] In January 2021, Criminal Section X of the Court of Milan sentenced Luca Volontè to four years in prison for taking bribes from Azerbaijani politicians.

On May 22nd of the same year the Court of Appeals in Milan acquitted him of the charges of corruption levelled at him as Director of the Novae Terrae Foundation, Verdict No.