Massimo Ferrero could be forced to step-down as Sampdoria President, after accepting a 22-month jail sentence.
The Blucerchiati President accepted a plea bargain for his role in the bankruptcy of the former airline Livingston which went under in 2010 with a €40m hole in its budget, resulting in the loss of 500 jobs.
Ferrero was accused of taking money out of the company for his own interests, with VareseNews alleging that €350,000 was diverted to another of Ferrero’s companies for two films which were never produced.
Massimo Ferrero could be forced to step-down as Sampdoria President, after accepting a 22-month jail sentence.
The Blucerchiati President accepted a plea bargain for his role in the bankruptcy of the former airline Livingston which went under in 2010 with a €40m hole in its budget, resulting in the loss of 500 jobs.
Ferrero was accused of taking money out of the company for his own interests, with VareseNews alleging that €350,000 was diverted to another of Ferrero’s companies for two films which were never produced.
In addition, it’s alleged that €2m went to a real estate company controlled by his wife, while €9.5m went to the Ellemme Group, also owned by Ferrero.
In 2014, the Samp patron submitted a plea bargain to the court in Busto Arsizio, with a sentence of 22 months for fraudulent bankruptcy.
The court has now accepted his plea, and he will also have to pay €800,000 in damages to the ministry of economic development.
Following the Parma debacle of last year, the FIGC introduced a fit-and-proper person’s test, article 22a of which bars anyone who has received a sentence of more than one year in prison for several offences, including fraudulent bankruptcy.
The procedure to comply with the FIGC rule is for a director to inform the governing body of their conviction, but as Ferrero’s is public knowledge, that would simply be a formality.
However, Gazzetta dello Sport believes that Ferrero may argue that his conviction is not in fact a violation of Article 22a, citing an argument from his lawyer.
“He hasn’t been given any additional penalties, nor are there any kind of restrictions on his business activities,” Luca Ponti noted.
“His plea bargain request was received favourably by the court in Busto Arsizio, which felt that – given the extenuating circumstances – Ferrero played a marginal role in the Livingston operation.
“So much so, in fact, that he has been given the lightest sentence of everyone, and is the only one where mitigating circumstances were acknowledged.”
It’s unlikely Ferrero will actually have to do any time behind bars, with his sentence likely to be commuted to community service and a restriction placed on his movements.