Parmalat chief to resign as plants sold

BRAZIL/ITALY – Ricardo Goncalves, the president of Parmalat’s unit in Brazil, is set to resign this Thursday according to a company spokeswoman.

It is unknown who will take over the role, and the future of the business itself is still uncertain as the Brazilian government has refused to bail the unit out.

On Thursday of last week Goncalves requested a change to bankruptcy laws so that he could more easily get money from Parmalat Brasil’s creditors, according to Reuters newsagency.

However, the government has refused to offer any help until it is clear to what extent the Brazilian arm was aware of the fraudulent accounting that was going on in Italy.

Brazil’s Central Bank said yesterday that it was investigating hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal transfers to and from Brazil between 1997 and 1999 by the Italian company.

Money was moved back and forwards with false destinations and false names, in a way that is similar to classic money laundering, according to the bank’s financial and foreign exchange crimes department.

Parmalat Italy has also greed the sale of two of its factories in France to the Lactalis group.

The sites in Carpiquet and Athis de l’Orne produce 25 million litres of milk a year as well as around 2,800 tonnes of Mozzarella.

Italian website www.bastardidentro.com/index/115 has poked fun at the Italian company’s strife by posting a Pac-Man style game that sees players control the head of Parmalat founder Calisto Tanzi’s head. Players must gobble as much money as possible before they are caught by the police.