Judge to rule on Parmalat chief

Italian prosecutors asked a judge today to confirm the arrest of Parmalat’s founder and former Chief Executive Officer after they accused him of market rigging, fraudulent bankruptcy and making false statements to auditors to hide a multi-billion pound hole in the dairy company’s balance sheet.

A judge in Milan was expected to decide on the request later today. A ruling in the prosecutors’ favour would make the detention of Calisto Tanzi a formal arrest, and allow charges to be officially levelled against him.