The investigation into the Agnelli inheritance, which was launched after a complaint by Margherita Agnelli and now also involves Ginevra and Lapo Elkann, is investigating 700 million euros that were declared to the tax authorities in October 2023.
The Turin prosecutor's office is now trying to figure out whether there may have been a fraud against the state. On Thursday, the names of Lapo and Ginevra Elkann were added to that of their brother John Elkann, the chairman of Stellantis and CEO of Exor, in the list of suspects.
Investigators had already targeted the family's accountant, Gianluca Ferrero, and the executor of Marella Caracciolo's will, Urs von Grunigen.
The possible scams emerged when the Guardia di Finanza identified the sum during an anti-money laundering investigation. John Elkann had filed the earnings, in the form of 'supplementary declarations' for the 2019-2021 tax years, as income earned abroad.
Currently, prosecutors suspect that the money came from the estate of Marella Caracciolo, grandmother of John, Lapo and Ginevra Elkann, and that inheritance tax in Italy has not been paid on these funds. The exact amount that may have been evaded has not yet been determined.
The tangled legal situation dates back to 2004 when, a year after the death of her father Gianni Agnelli, Margherita entered into an agreement with her mother, Marella.
The deal called for Margherita to give up her stakes in family businesses in exchange for assets worth €1,275 billion.
However, she later disputed the validity of this agreement, claiming that she was not aware of her father's entire estate. She then tried to take the case to the courts, but was unsuccessful.
Now, in Turin, two new legal cases have been opened. First of all, there is a civil trial in which she is suing her children John, Ginevra and Lapo Elkann, who inherited Marella's assets.
He wants to invalidate his mother's will. He also filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office, which led to a notice of investigation for John Elkann for an alleged 'unfaithful' tax return.
The argument behind this is that Marella Agnelli, despite being a tax resident in Switzerland, spent more than 183 days in Italy in 2018, which should have made her a 'resident' for tax purposes, and therefore liable to pay tax on all her assets.
The investigation and the Review Court have allowed the prosecutor to keep the documents relating to Marella Caracciolo's inheritance, which were seized on February 8. Among these documents is an envelope dedicated to Chalet Icy, the place in Switzerland where Marella had declared she had established her tax residence.
Phones, servers and other devices are still under seizure. Last Saturday, the judges of the Review Court decided to return these devices to the suspects, but the investigation renewed the seizure. Currently, they are waiting for the appointment of a consultant to conduct a technical investigation.
Until yesterday evening, the notice of investigation issued by the Turin Public Prosecutor's Office had not been formally notified to Lapo Elkann, in connection with the investigation into Gianni Agnelli's inheritance, because he is in Portugal. A similar situation occurred a few weeks ago with Urs Von Gruenigen, the fifth defendant in the case.
Article published on March 8, 2024 - 18pm
