Parmalat Founder Arrested
By George Anderson
Calisto Tanzi, the founder of Parmalat who was arrested in Italy yesterday
on charges he illegally manipulated the share price of his company’s stock and
lied to regulators, must be asking himself, “who needs prosecuting attorneys
when you have lawyers like these?”
Michele Ributti, legal counsel for Mr. Tanzi, was quoted by USA Today
as saying his client wasn’t guilty of embezzling funds from the company because,
“No money disappeared. (There were) just non-existent assets.”
The company declared bankruptcy last week after it became clear it could not
meet its obligations. The Bank of America announced the $4.9 billion Parmalat
claimed to have in the bank was not there and official documents had been forged.
Moderator’s Comment: What are your thoughts on the
spate of corporate scandals in recent years? Why do so many business leaders
appear to be failing the stakeholders in their companies?
If Abraham were to intercede on the behalf of today’s
business leaders with God would he find, as in the case of Sodom, there are
no innocents to be spared? [George
Anderson – Moderator]