Two Italian former directors of the Irish Parmalat subsidiary Eurofood IFSC are among 29 top executives whom Milan prosecutors have said should stand trial.
The prosecutors are also seeking the "fast-track" prosecution of the Italian affiliates of Deloitte & Touche, Grant Thornton and Bank of America for their dealings with the dairy multinational at the heart of the multibillion euro scandal.
Eurofood provided financing facilities for companies in the Parmalat group. Its two Italian former directors, Mr Fausto Tonna and Mr Luciano Del Soldato, were arrested and questioned some months ago. Both are former chief financial officers of Parmalat.
After three months of investigations, yesterday's first request for a trial marked a turning point in the fraud probe that has shaken Italy.
If the judge rejects the fast-track bid, prosecutors will have to seek more evidence before the suspects can stand trial.
Mr Calisto Tanzi (65), one of those named yesterday, built a family delicatessen into the Parmalat dairy and bakery group. He has admitted siphoning off approximately €500 million from Parmalat into family-owned businesses. He is being held in jail and is said to be depressed.
Mr Tonna was Mr Tanzi's closest associate and the financial brains behind the group. He resigned as chief financial officer in March 2003 after Parmalat had to pull a bond issue. Prosecutors have said he was at the heart of a decade-long effort to disguise losses at Parmalat. He in turn has said he was simply following Mr Tanzi's orders.
Mr Soldato was a former head of auditing and administration at Parmalat who took over as chief financial officer in November 2003 but resigned a month later. He is accused by magistrates of helping orchestrate a network of shell companies and offshore funds.
As well as the two Italian directors, Eurofood had two Irish non-executive directors, Mr Ambrose Loughlin, a partner in the law firm McCann Fitzgerald in whose offices the company is registered, and Ms Catherine Meenaghan, an employee of Bank of America, which has a substantial operation in the Irish Financial Services Centre (IFSC). The company's accounts are audited by the Irish office of Grant Thornton, auditor to Parmalat's offshore entities.
The High Court has yet to decide on an application for the appointment of a liquidator to Eurofood.
The petition was brought by Bank of America, which is owed some €3.9 million by Eurofood. However, the winding-up application was resisted by lawyers on behalf of Mr Enrico Bondi, who was appointed by the Italian courts in February as special commissioner of Eurofood.
Eurofood is being inquired into by the Director of Corporate Enforcement, Mr Paul Appleby. - (Additional reporting: Reuters)
