In 2003, multinational Italian dairy and food corporation Parmalat collapsed with a €14 billion ($20bn; £13bn) hole in its accounts, in what remains Europe's biggest bankruptcy.
Bank of America disavows the document released by Parmalat's Bonlat Financing Corp unit claiming over €4B are being stored by an affiliate of the company in the Cayman Islands.
Prosecutors believe the executives constructed a series of shell companies and used forged documents to conceal losses and divert cash.
[10] February 27 – Luca Sala admits to and offers to forfeit most of the $27M he misappropriated in a kickback scheme at Parmalat, but still maintains the bank was unaware of his improprieties.
[11] March 5 – Parmalat seeks $618 million from U.S. banks to recover assets from creditors under an Italian claw back law known as "revocatoria".
March 18 – An Italian judge is asked by prosecutors to order 29 executives and three companies to stand trial on four separate charges.
[15] October 7 – Parmalat sues Bank of America for $10B in damages, as it had in July 2004 against Citigroup and in August 2004 against Deloitte & Touche and Grant Thornton.
Judge Lewis Kaplan's 74-page decision asserts that Bank of America did not know Parmalat was in financial trouble and thus could not profit off the company's downturn.
The judge did not dismiss claims included in the suit against Citigroup, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro SpA, or Credit Suisse First Boston.
August 9 – A U.S. judge rules Parmalat can proceed with its $10B suit against Bank of America on charges of aiding and abetting break of fiduciary duty and looting of the company.
August 18 – After 16 days, Luca Sala is released from pre-trial custody in Italy after it was determined that he could no longer tamper with evidence.
Sala denies stealing the money, instead claiming he earned some of it in commissions from insurance and private-placement contracts he handled for Parmalat.
The suit claims Bank of America generated millions of dollars in fees and interest when it orchestrated financial transactions designed to disguise Parmalat's insolvency.
Bank of America states that it "believed it was dealing with a strong, honest, and profitable company and had no knowledge of the fraud perpetrated by Parmalat and its senior management".
[27] March 30 – Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York has ruled Bank of America may seek up to $1B in damages from Parmalat.
[28] March 26 – Some of the counterclaims brought by Bank of America against Parmalat, including racketeering and North Carolina deceptive-trade practices laws are dismissed by Judge Lewis Kaplan in New York federal district court.
"[29] June 22 – U.S. Federal Bankruptcy Court in New York grants a permanent injunction against claims by creditors, including Bank of America.
July 27 – A U.S. Federal bankruptcy judge in New York dismisses claims by foreign investors that the bank knew the Italian company was in financial dire straits and profited from that information.
[34] August 12 – U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan subsequently dismisses the lawsuit brought against Bank of America by Parmalat investors.