Three former chief financial officers of Parmalat Finanziaria SpA were among 11 people receiving prison sentences ranging from 10 months to two and a half years in a trial stemming from the scandal at the Italian dairy group, according to the Associated Press.
The 11 individuals faced charges that included market rigging, publishing false balance sheets, and obstructing market regulatory body Consob, the AP reported.
The three finance executives — Fausto Tonna, Alberto Ferraris, and Luciano Del Soldato — served during 2003, the year Parmalat’s massive fraud came to light, according to the report. Tonna, a trusted aid of company founder Calisto Tanzi, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison; former Parmalat legal adviser Gianpaolo Zini received two years.
Ferraris, Del Soldato, and the other defendants received shorter sentences, which were suspended on the condition that the individuals wouldn’t commit similar violations. Tonna and Zini are also likely to have their sentences suspended or to be given community service, according to reports.
There will be further trials related to the Parmalat scandal. On Saturday, the judge ordered Parmalat founder and former chairman Calisto Tanzi and 15 other people to stand trial in September, the AP noted. Among those facing the same charges are officials from the Italian branches of Bank of America and Deloitte & Touche, the wire service added.