Parmalat founder Calisto Tanzi sentenced to 18 years

Описание: (9 Dec 2010) SHOTLIST
FILE: Milan - 28 September, 2005
1. Wide of Milan courtroom and Parmalat founder, Calisto Tanzi, surrounded by his lawyers
2. Close of Tanzi
3. Medium of Tanzi and lawyers
4. Close of court folder
5. Wide of judges
6. Close of court documents
7. Close of Tanzi
8. Cutaway of court police officer
9. Wide of court room
FILE: Near Collecchio, Parma - 2003 (Exact Date Unknown)
10. Wide exterior of Parmalat plant near the town of Collecchio
11. Medium of Parmalat trucks entering plant
12. Close of yoghurt production belt
13. Wide of interior of factory
14. Wide pan of exterior of factory
FILE: Rome, 2006 (Exact Date Unknown)
15. Various of supermarket shelves with Parmalat products
STORYLINE
An Italian court on Thursday convicted Parmalat founder Calisto Tanzi of fraudulent bankruptcy and criminal association in the 14 (b) billion euro (18 (b) billion US dollar) failure of his dairy empire.
The court sentenced the 71-year-old Tanzi to 18 years in prison, 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, said 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 a separate market-rigging trial in Milan, but he continues to live in his estate near Parma.
It is rare in Italy for people of his age to serve prison time.
Tanzi has always maintained his innocence and will appeal, Biancolella said.
Parmalat's image as a simple dairy business - even though it sold milk, juice and baked goods in 30 countries - masked a tangled financial web that unravelled when the company acknowledged the crushing debt.
Parmalat emerged from bankruptcy protection after a two-year reorganisation and re-listed on the Milan Stock Exchange in 2005.
Lawyers representing some 40-thousand defrauded bondholders have been trying to seek compensation from Tanzi himself as well as the banks that had sold them bad Parmalat bonds.
The banks have always denied wrongdoing, claiming they were equally duped as the investors.
Tanzi has blamed the banks for the labyrinth of shaky deals that on the one hand helped the once simple dairy business grow into a global empire and on the other led to its collapse.

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