Milan prosecutors have accepted plea bargains for nine out of 27 defendants accused of orchestrating the Parmalat debacle including three former chief financial officers and two relations of Calisto Tanzi, the founder of the collapsed dairy group.

The plea bargains are related to charges of deceiving the market, obstructing regulators, and fraudulent auditing.

The deals were submitted on Tuesday by prosecutors to Judge Cesare Tacconi, who is expected to decide whether to approve them by the next hearing in the case at the end of May.

The sentencing deals, people close to the discussions said yesterday, have been struck with Fausto Tonna, the former chief financial officer who has confessed to leading the accounting fraud with Mr Tanzi.

Mr Tanzi's brother and son, Giovanni and Stefano, have also submitted pleas. Calisto Tanzi has not reached a plea agreement, and neither has Gianpaolo Zini, a lawyer accused of helping to extend Parmalat's deceptive accounting and reporting practices to other countries.

None of the plea bargains include fines or financial restitution.

Under the Italian legal system, plea bargains do not require admissions of guilt.