Parmalat boss back in hospital

Parmalat founder Calisto Tanzi, who was arrested months ago for his alleged role in the dairy giant’s near-collapse, was taken to a hospital in Parma today.

The ANSA and AGI news agencies said Tanzi went to hospital after he fell ill in jail last night. His condition was not immediately clear.

Last month, Tanzi had been briefly taken to a hospital after suffering what his lawyer said was ischemia, an obstruction of the flow of arterial blood.

Tanzi was arrested on December 27 about a week after Parmalat acknowledged that it didn’t have £2.6bn (€3.8bn) it had claimed was in a Bank of America account. Soon after, the company went into bankruptcy protection.

After his arrest in Milan, Tanzi was transferred to Parma, a northern city near the headquarters of the company he once ran.

The 67-year-old has a history of heart problems. He suffered a heart attack and underwent bypass surgery years ago.