The Court of Milan sentenced him to two years and six months' imprisonment the former director of Sun 24 hoursRobert Neapolitan, accused of false corporate communications and market manipulation related to alleged irregularities in the financial management of the group at the time he was at the top. This was decided by the second criminal section of the Court of Milan, chaired by Flores Tanga. The prosecutor had asked for a 4-year sentence, with the granting of extenuating circumstances.
The proceeding concerns the management of the publishing group in the period from 23 March 2011 to 14 March 2017. According to the investigators, Napoletano was de facto administrator, as well as editorial director. According to the indictment, in those years alleged irregularities had been committed in the group's accounts deriving from data on the circulation of the newspaper and digital subscriptions. In detail, "in order to ensure an unfair profit for himself and for third parties" Napoletano, together with the other top management, allegedly exposed in the June 2015 half-yearly report, in the September 2015 interim report and in the December financial statements of the same year, "material facts untruthful on the economic, equity and financial situation of the company".
Napoletano was also sentenced to payment of a fine of 50 thousand euros, while he was acquitted of not having committed the crime on charges of sale and re-lease of the rotary press. The former director of Sun 24 hours he was finally sentenced to pay the costs of the proceedings and to pay damages to the civil parties "to be settled in a separate civil court". The Sun 24 Hours, cited in the trial as civilly liable, is called to pay part of the damages "jointly" with his former director.
“I am amazed. I am mostly innocent and I will appeal”, commented Roberto Napoletano. "The proceedings of this trial - he explained - demonstrate unequivocally that on the editorial level I have received a newspaper on the verge of the abyss and I have always achieved positive editorial results, always in clear contrast with the market and, above all, achieved in a lawful manner ”. We recall that the former president had been investigated in the same proceeding Benito Benedini and former CEO Donatella Treu. However, Napoletano is the only one to have chosen the ordinary procedure, while Treu and Benedini have negotiated the sentence before the investigating judge in the preliminary hearing.
