The Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office has requested that John Elkann, chairman of Stellantis and Ferrari and chief executive of Exor, stand trial along with accountant Gianluca Ferrero, as part of one branch of the investigation into the Agnelli family inheritance. The move follows a ruling issued last December by investigating judge Antonio Borretta, who ordered compulsory prosecution for the alleged offence of false tax declarations, rejecting prosecutors’ earlier request to drop the case against Elkann and Ferrero while approving it for other suspects.
The charges concern alleged inaccuracies in tax returns relating to the income of Marella Caracciolo, Elkann’s grandmother, for 2018 and the first months of 2019, the year of her death. Prosecutors initially raised six counts, later reduced to two by the judge, who ruled that the alleged conduct could not be absorbed into the separate charge of fraud against the state, which is being examined in a different set of proceedings.
The request for indictment now opens the preliminary hearing phase, during which prosecutors may reassess the position of the defendants. The case forms part of a long-running legal and tax dispute surrounding the Agnelli succession, which has been under scrutiny for several years.
In the main fraud investigation, Elkann has already paid €183 million to the Italian Revenue Agency, obtaining prosecutors’ support for his application to enter a probation programme. However, the charge of false tax declarations does not allow access to this alternative procedure, casting uncertainty over the possibility of avoiding a full trial through community service.
The hearing on probation has been postponed until 11 February, when preliminary hearing judge Francesca De Maria is expected to rule on the request. Elkann’s lawyers have announced an appeal to the Supreme Court against the compulsory prosecution order, describing it as a procedural step following the judge’s decision and reiterating their belief that the allegations are unfounded.