Legal crossfire over Parmalat meltdown continues

Recriminations continue over the collapse of the food firm Parmalat with debts of €14.3 billion (US$17.6 billion) in December last year. Now investors in the company are suing the firm’s former managers, bankers and auditors for a reported US$8 billion. At the same time, the administrators of the bankrupt firm are also suing Parmalat’s bankers and accountants. In a separate action, an Italian court is deciding whether the banks, auditors and 29 key employees should be prosecuted for their alleged role in the scandal.Parmalat was declared bankrupt following the revelation that four billion Euros it claimed it had in offshore banks didn’t actually exist.