Trouble ahead for Il Sole 24 Ore. In a long letter of no less than 56 pages, Consob charged the publisher of the main Italian economic journal with the crimes of false accounting and market manipulation. For a newspaper that deals with economics and finance and is listed on the Stock Exchange, it is a terrible blow to its credibility, which risks paving the way for other tiles.
In the dock are four former top managers of the publishing house and the former director of the newspaper, Roberto Napoletano. Together with him, the Authority that supervises the Stock Exchange is calling into question the former CEO Donatella Treu, the former financial director Massimo Arioli, the former sales manager Alberto Biella and the former digital manager for false accounting and market manipulation. business Anna Matteo, who will obviously send their defensive papers in the next few days.
If the allegations, which concern the alleged increase in the diffusion of digital subscriptions with consequent alteration of the balance sheet data and the company's stock market value, are proven, Il Sole 24 Ore risks a heavy fine but, above all, the disputes by Consob give life to the investigations by the Milan prosecutor's office which, under the guidance of the deputy prosecutor Fabio De Pasquale, will have to decide whether or not to indict the former top management and the former director of the economic newspaper for the same crimes.
Consob's move alarms the editorial board which invites the board of directors to go all the way and to promote liability action against the former directors and the former director of Il Sole, deemed guilty of having undermined the credibility of the newspaper and the trust of the readers and to have caused a lot of economic and above all image troubles to a famous brand like that of the Confindustria newspaper.
The new president of the Sun, Edoardo Garrone, and the new CEO, Giuseppe Cerbone, who, according to growing rumors, will also have to evaluate the possible change in the direction of the newspaper, now in the hands of Guido Gentili, will be the first problem that the recovery will have to face. after the decline in newsstand sales, which has already cost the job of former managing director Franco Moscetti.
