18 June, 2008 - Italian dairy company Parmalat has been told by a judge it has the right to claim damages in a criminal trial linked to the group's collapse five years ago.
A judge in Parma granted the petition made by Parmalat Chief Executive Enrico Bondi for the right to seek compensation in the trial against 24 Parmalat executives, including its founder Calisto Tanzi, who are accused of fraudulent bankruptcy.
Some 36,000 individual investors, who also lost money during the 2003 collapse, were also given leave to pursue compensation.
In 2003, Parmalat went bankrupt as a result of debts totalling EUR 14 billion. The company came out of bankruptcy two years later after current CEO Bondi recouped EUR 1.6 billion from various sources including bank settlements and legal action.