Ferrari chairman Elkann reaches agreement over long-running family dispute

09:34, 10 Sep

byTobia Elia

Ferrari chairman John Elkann has reached an agreement with the Turin Prosecutor’s Office to close a tax investigation that involved him alongside the widow of former FIAT president Gianni Agnelli.

The president of the Maranello-based team, who also holds the same position at Stellantis—the automotive giant formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA—and at Exor, the Agnelli family’s financial holding, had come under the scrutiny of the Turin Prosecutor’s Office over a tax dispute linked to the inheritance of his grandmother, Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto, widow of Gianni Agnelli.

Prosecutors alleged that the Elkann siblings had failed to declare as much as €1 billion in assets and €248.5 million in income, as they considered their grandmother to be a Swiss resident.

Ferrari chairman John Elkann and Frederic Vasseur

Ferrari chairman Elkann puts family tax dispute to an end

To avoid a criminal proceeding, Elkann and his siblings Lapo and Ginevra agreed to complete a year of community service and pay €183 million (approximately £159.2 million) to the Italian tax authorities.

The agreement reached with the Turin Prosecutor’s Office does not, however, constitute an admission of guilt by Elkann, his lawyer was keen to clarify.

"John Elkann's request for probation must be viewed in this context and does not entail, just as the settlement with the tax authorities does not, any admission of responsibility,'' Elkann's legal representative Paolo Siniscalchi told BBC.

"If this request is granted, the proceedings against him will be suspended, and upon the successful completion of the probationary period, will conclude with a ruling extinguishing all the charges for which John Elkann is currently under investigation.''

"This outcome would mirror that of his siblings Ginevra and Lapo, for whom dismissal of charges has been requested."

Elkann will now have to propose to the authorities which institution he wishes to carry out his year of community service at, which could involve a senior center, a rehabilitation center for drug addicts, or other types of organizations with a social focus.