An Italian court convicted Parmalat founder Calisto Tanzi of fraudulent bankruptcy and criminal association in the EUR14 billion failure ($18 billion) of the dairy concern and sentenced him to 18 years in prison.
The sentence for the 71-year-old Tanzi was just shy of the 20 years requested by prosecutors for his role in Europe’s largest corporate failure. Another 16 defendants were convicted and sentenced to lesser terms, according to Tanzi attorney Giampiero Biancolella.
The accusations of fraudulent bankruptcy and criminal association in the Parma trial were the most serious charges against Tanzi stemming from the 2003 collapse, precipitated when Parmalat acknowledged its debt was eight times higher than previously claimed.
Nearly two years ago, Tanzi was sentenced to 10 years in prison in a separate market-rigging trial in Milan, but he continues to live in his estate. It is rare in Italy for people of his age to serve prison time. Parmalat emerged from bankruptcy protection after a two-year reorganization and re-listed on the Milan Stock Exchange in 2005.