The impact of the financial scandal at Italy’s Parmalat has spread to banks, auditors and a major Swedish firm, while Parmalat’s operating units around the globe ponder their future.
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So far, nine people have been arrested in connection with the suspected billion-euro fraud at the Italian food giant, including former CEO and founder Calisto Tanzi, while at least 25 others are under investigation.
Swedish packaging firm Tetra Pak has launched an internal investigation after a newspaper report claimed it may have paid €70m (US$88.5m) to Tanzi or his family. Tetra Pak said it has paid around €12m per year since 1995 to Parmalat-linked companies as part of regular operations, but had not found any payments to the Tanzi family, reported Reuters.
Elsewhere, Parmalat’s South African unit has denied it is in discussions over the sale of the business. The business, which employs 1,800 staff, made a profit last year. Parmalat South Africa dismissed media reports that a sale was on the cards as speculation.
Parmalat Argentina has said that its operations are running normally. A spokesperson for the company had no comment on whether the Argentine unit might be sold off by Parmalat to raise cash, reported Dow Jones News.
In Venezuela, the country’s agriculture minister said Parmalat’s new management had pledged to provide financing and resources to maintain the company’s Venezuelan operations until Parmalat completes its international restructuring plan, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, Parmalat’s administrator, Enrico Bondi, has told company officials in Australia that the Italian firm’s operations there are sound and there are no immediate plans to sell assets in Australia, reported ABC News.
