[5] On 9 December 2010, a court in Parma found Tanzi guilty of fraudulent bankruptcy and criminal association and sentenced him to 18 years in prison.

In December 2009, the Italian authorities announced that they had seized nineteen works of art belonging to Tanzi, which had been concealed at the houses of his friends.

Parma Prosecutor Gerardo Laguardia, said that officials had acted quickly to seize the pictures after discovering that they had been offered for sale.

“Rediscovered Treasures: Impressionists and Modern Masterpieces from a Private Collection” included artworks by such artists as Balla, Gauguin, Cézanne, Kandinsky, Matisse, Modigliani and van Gogh.

Both honours, however, were withdrawn on grounds of 'indignity' in the wake of the Parmalat affair — yet before the final bankruptcy conviction — by President Giorgio Napolitano.