UPDATE 1-BT Italy fake accounting demo to resume in April
(Updates with adjournment, BT comment)
MILAN, Jan 26 (Reuters) – A trial into alleged fake accounting at the Italian unit of British Telecom in 2015 and 2016 opened in Milan on Tuesday, with 20 defendants, which includes two former senior BT executives and the Italian subsidiary by itself, dealing with expenses.
In a quick listening to on Tuesday early morning, the court docket went through formalities these as verifying the lawful reps of the defendants, and adjourned the scenario right up until April 23. None of the defendants was existing in the courtroom.
Milan prosecutors allege that a network of BT Italy workers inflated revenues, faked deal renewals and invoices and invented bogus provider transactions in buy to disguise the unit’s genuine money overall performance.
BT took a 530 million pound ($725 million) demand in its accounts in 2017 relating to the alleged phony accounting.
All the defendants have generally denied any wrongdoing.
The situation is remaining listened to in a high-security courtroom on the outskirts of Italy’s monetary capital, generally decided on for Mafia trials but in use now to comply with coronavirus restrictions.
Underneath Italian legislation, a firm can also be prosecuted for offences dedicated by its professionals in its have fascination.
“Whilst we keep on being assured in our defence, given the ongoing proceedings, it would be inappropriate for us to comment more,” a BT spokesman in London reported.
Among the the defendants are Richard Cameron, former main fiscal officer of BT Global Solutions, and Corrado Sciolla, formerly BT’s head of continental Europe.
Both of those have denied any wrongdoing. (Supplemental reporting by Paul Sandle in London Enhancing by Keith Weir, Alexander Smith and Alex Richardson)
