COMPANIES owed tens of millions of euro by failed Italian food company Parmalat are fighting to decide if the Irish or Italian courts have jurisdiction in the case.

PARMALAT’S debt reached €14.3 billion at the end of September, almost eight times the amount reported by the dairy company’s previous management before it went bankrupt.

PARMALAT Finanziaria’s former chief financial officers Fausto Tonna and Luciano Del Soldato are among six executives arrested by the Italian police today as part of a probe into the collapse of Italy’s largest food company, sources familiar with the investigation said.

PARMALAT Finanziaria SpA founder Calisto Tanzi is being probed for allegedly misappropriating about €800 million ($1 billion) from the company, a person familiar with the investigation said.