Ex-governor of Italy's central bank gets four year jail sentence

May 28, 2011

Milan, Italy - A former governor of Italy's central bank, Antonio Fazio, on Saturday was sentenced to four years in jail for market rigging in connection with a 2005 takeover bid for Italian private bank Banca Antonveneta, ANSA newsagency reported.

The Milan court also fined Fazio 1.5 million euros (2.3 million dollars) and ruled that he be prevented from holding public office for a period of four years.

Fazio was accused of favouring another Italian bank, Banca Popolare Italiana over a rival offers for Banca Antonveneta made by Dutch and Spanish banks. Prosecutors had asked for a three year-jail sentence and a fine of 100,000 euros for Fazio.

Fazio had been governor of the Bank of Italy for 12 years when he resigned in 2005 in the wake of leaked intercepted telephone calls which indicated he was discussing with representatives of some Italian private banks, ways to block bids from the foreign banks.

Later that year Dutch giant ABN Amro won the takeover battle for Antonveneta.

On Saturday the Milan court also sentenced the former president of Italian financial services company Unipol, Giovanni Consorte, to three years in jail.

A senator from Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's conservative People of Freedom party, Luig Grillo, received a two year sentence, while former Banca Popolare Italiana chief executive officer, Gianpiero Fiorani, received a sentence of one year and eight months for his role in the Banca Antonveneta bid, ANSA said.