The Italian government is investigating Stellantis and Ferrari Chair John Elkann over tax fraud allegations as part of a broader probe into the Agnelli-family inheritance. While the case was opened earlier this year, things have been heating up with government actors searching through legal offices this week.
Italian tax authorities have stated that the raids were conducted on Tuesday, with the focus being on five individuals — including Elkann and his siblings Lapo and Ginevra. According to Reuters, allegations have been made that the inheritance money obtained following the 2019 death of Marella Caracciolo, the wife of late Fiat head Gianni Agnelli, was not properly handled.
From Reuters:
The case stems from a wider inheritance dispute between the Elkanns and their mother Margherita over the estate of Gianni Agnelli, which has divided one of Italy's best known business dynasties. An Italian judge in September seized money and assets worth almost 75 million euros ($78.77 million) from the five people involved.
Prosecutors in Turin said in a statement on Tuesday that the searches were aimed at collecting documents for the probe, regarding transfers of shares in Dicembre (December), the holding company owned by the three Elkann siblings at the top of the ownership structure of Exor, the Agnelli family's investment firm.
In particular, prosecutors allege contracts regarding a 2004 transfer of a 40 [percent] stake in Dicembre from Marella Caracciolo to John, Lapo and Ginevra were “insufficient, altered or falsified” and that succession taxes were not paid.
The Elkanns' lawyers said in a statement the three [siblings] were not personally targeted by the tax police searches and that their clients reaffirmed that all their acts relating to Dicembre were legitimate.
“The current structure of Dicembre as well as the role held in it by John Elkann reflect the wishes of Gianni and Marella Agnelli, are supported by the entire family and cannot be changed by any legal action,” they stated.
It’s hard to have sympathy for unaccountable government agencies hunting for more money. But it’s similarly hard to want to support unaccountable dynasties that influence entire industries.
Chief executives are often thrown under the bus and replaced whenever things start going bad, while ultra-wealthy board members stay on with the chairman at the helm. They’re arguably more relevant in terms of decision making and are frequently the ones guiding the company through any major changes. But it’s the CEOs that tend to be held accountable, leaving the company in shame with a sizable pay package.
Elkann presently chairs Stellantis and is the CEO of Exor, a holding company controlled by the Agnelli family with a controlling stake in Ferrari (which he also chairs), CNH Industrial, Iveco Group, Juventus FC, and The Economist. Mr. Elkann was likewise tasked with overseeing the merger between Fiat Chrysler and the PSA Group. So, if you hate everything that’s happening with Stellantis’ American brands right now, he’s someone you can point a finger toward — as he effectively took over for Sergio Marchionne immediately before his death.
Investigators are currently focused on where the family members were spending the brunt of their year, especially the late Caracciolo, and whether or not it was sufficient to require them to pay inheritance taxes in Italy.
[Images: Stellantis]
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