THE FOUNDER of Italian dairy group Parmalat was sentenced to 10 years in jail for market-rigging in a trial over the company’s 2003 collapse, while all other defendants were acquitted, judges said.
Calisto Tanzi, who was also the company’s chief executive, was among eight former executives and bankers, including some former Bank of America employees, on trial in Milan for market-rigging or obstructing market oversight.
Bank of America said it was pleased with the court decision acquitting its former employees of market manipulation. It said evidence at the trial had shown no one at the bank knew or could have discovered Parmalat’s true financial condition.
Parmalat’s collapse was one of Europe’s biggest financial scandals, and Tanzi was described by a prosecutor as the “hub, who covered up for everyone” in the case.
Parmalat buckled in 2003 with a €14 billion hole in its accounts. Its demise wiped out the savings of more than 100,000 small investors.
Prosecutors have said the accused misled markets by masking Parmalat’s dire finances.
Italian prosecutors had sought a 13-year prison term for Tanzi in the trial, held in Milan. The main trial over the collapse of the dairy group began in the northern city of Parma in March. – (Reuters)
