Tanzis quit Parma soccer board
 |
Calisto Tanzi was arrested when details of the scandal broke.
Story Tools
VIDEO
|
Italian police detained the founder of scandal-struck Parmalat.
|
|
ROME, Italy (CNN) -- The son of Parmalat founder Calisto Tanzi resigned Friday from the board of Parma, the soccer team owned by Parmalat, the company said.
It said that Stefano Tanzi resigned along with Paolo Tanzi, Calisto Tanzi's nephew.
The resignations will become effective at a board meeting Wednesday and will effectively dissolve the current board, which also included Tanzi's daughter, Francesca.
The resignations came as investigators searched the Milan offices of Bank of America.
The multi-national Parmalat empire is in ruins following the disclosure that 7 billion euros ($8.75 billion) was missing from Parmalat's accounts.
Prosecutors have said that the amount missing may be as much as 13 billion euros ($16.25 billion) when the dust settles, making it the largest corporate fraud ever, larger than the $12 billion WorldCom scandal.
Parmalat filed for bankruptcy protection after it revealed that an account at Bank of America was not holding about $4.9 billion of its funds, as the company had reported in September.
In London, a representative of Bank of America said, "We can confirm that prosecutors and investigators are in our Milan branch today. We expected a visit and are co-operating fully with their enquiries and assisting in providing all requested documents.
"We expect to resume business as normal as soon as the investigators have obtained everything they require."
Calisto Tanzi's attorney, Fabio Belloni, said Tanzi, who has admitted diverting 500 million euros ($625 million), did not engage in fraud to enrich himself but to save the companies he founded. Tanzi has admitted falsifying accounts.
