Calisto Tanzi (17 November 1938 – 1 January 2022) was an Italian businessman and convicted fraudster. He founded Parmalat in 1961, after

dropping out Dropping out refers to leaving high school, college, university or another group for practical reasons, necessities, inability, apathy, or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves. Canada In Canada, most ind ...

of college. Parmalat collapsed in 2003 with a

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

14bn ($20bn; £13bn) hole in its accounts in what remains

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

's biggest bankruptcy. In 2008 Tanzi was found to have

embezzled Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...

an estimated €800 million from the company, and was jailed for fraud. Although sentenced to up to 18 years in prison, Tanzi served just over two years in jail and then was placed under house arrest.

Trials and imprisonment

Parmalat fraud

In December 2008, Tanzi was convicted by a

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

court and sentenced to 10 years in prison for fraud. Tanzi appealed the sentence but the

appeals court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

upheld it in May 2010. The

Corte di Cassazione The Supreme Court of Cassation ( it, Corte Suprema di Cassazione) is the highest court of appeal or court of last resort in Italy. It has its seat in the Palace of Justice, Rome. The Court of Cassation also ensures the correct application of ...

reduced it to eight years and one month, after which Tanzi was imprisoned on 5 May 2011.

Parmalat bankruptcy

On 9 December 2010, a court in

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

found Tanzi guilty of fraudulent bankruptcy and

criminal association In criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime at some time in the future. Criminal law in some countries or for some conspiracies may require that at least one overt act be undertaken in furtherance o ...

and sentenced him to 18 years in prison. Tanzi appealed the sentence and the appeal trial started in December 2011 in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

Parmatour bankruptcy

On 20 December 2011, Tanzi was sentenced to a further nine years and two months for the Parmatour bankruptcy.

Parma AC bankruptcy

Tanzi was fined

10,000 and given a six-month ban from football for false accounting of Parma A.C. in 2002–03 season.

Artwork seizure

In 2001, according to ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'', he was listed as a billionaire with a net worth of roughly $1.3 billion. In December 2009 the Italian authorities announced that they had seized nineteen

works of art A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

belonging to Tanzi which had been concealed at the houses of his friends. The works of art were said to be worth more than

100 million and included paintings and drawings by Picasso,

Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

, and

van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

. Tanzi had denied owning any hidden works of art. Parma Prosecutor Gerardo Laguardia, said that officials had acted quickly to seize the pictures after discovering that they had been offered for sale. The authorities said that Stefano Strini, Tanzi's

son-in-law Son-in-Law (22 April 1911 – 15 May 1941) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and an influential sire, especially for sport horses. The National Horseracing Museum says Son-in-Law is "probably the best and most distinguished stayer this co ...

, was being investigated for allegedly handling the artwork. On 29 October 2019, Tanzi's art collection was auctioned off in Milan. “Rediscovered Treasures: Impressionists and Modern Masterpieces from a Private Collection” included artworks by such artists as Balla,

Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

, Cézanne,

Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, and sculptur ...

, Modigliani, and

Honours

Tanzi was appointed Cavaliere del Lavoro in 1984 and Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana in 1999. Both honours, however, were withdrawn on grounds of 'indignity' in the wake of the Parmalat affair — yet before the final bankruptcy conviction — by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Giorgio Napolitano.

Personal life and death

Tanzi died of pneumonia in a

hospital on 1 January 2022, at the age of 83.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanzi, Calisto 1938 births 2022 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in Emilia-Romagna Confidence tricksters Italian businesspeople Italian fraudsters Italian prisoners and detainees People convicted of fraud Prisoners and detainees of Italy People from the Province of Parma