Planet

Coldiretti and the financial operation Federconsorzi 2

September 9, 2024

We received and are publishing the transcript of a long conversation that we are told took place on 6.11.18 between the then head of the economic area of Coldiretti Gianluca Lelli, a manager of Banca Intesa and others, before the Federconsorzi 2 financial operation (see attachment at the bottom of the page).

1) Federconsorzi Operation 2

The Federconsorzi 2 operation, already extensively described on this site (1,2,3,4), took the form of the establishment of:

– Consorzi Agrari d’Italia (CAI) Srl, later transformed into S.p.A., where the Consorzi Agrari Tirreno, Emilia, Adriatico, Centro Sud, together with Società Consortile Consorzi Agrari S.c.p.A. (SCCA) and Bonifiche Ferraresi S.p.A., relative majority shareholder with extraordinary powers, were merged;

– CAI Real Estate S.r.l., where the Consortia themselves had instead conferred their real estate assets, presented as company branches (with possible tax fraud of millions of euro) and devalued at the instant of 21 million euro, to the benefit of the financial shareholders among which was AgriCorporateFinance (5,6,7,8)

2) Mutualism and finance

The legitimacy of the transfer of real estate treasuries from the Consorzi Agrari to Federconsorzi 2 – as pointed out in a special opinion by Prof. Avv. Zoppini, professor of civil law and expert in cooperation (9) – presupposed three preliminary and essential conditions:

–the prior amendment of the articles of association of the Agricultural Consortia, with express provision for the possibility of carrying out mutualistic activities not only directly, but also through investee companies;

–a resolution of the shareholders’ meeting, aimed at authorising a transaction which in turn presupposes a substantial change in the corporate purpose of the Consorzi Agrari;

– the compression of the extraordinary powers granted in CAI S.p.A. to the financial partner Bonifiche Ferraresi.

3) Coldiretti, Bonifiche Ferraresi and Banca Intesa. The dialogue

Gianluca Lelli –a former dolphin of Vincenzo Gesmundo, was at the time both the Economic Secretary of Coldiretti and a board member of Bonifiche Ferraresi S.p.A. And he then took on the role of managing director of CAI S.p.A., through his BT S.r.l.s., as well as president of AgriCorporateFinance, which later wrecked.

The transcription of the preparatory meeting between Coldiretti (Gianluca Lelli) and Banca Intesa (Massimiliano Cattozzi) effectively confirms that Lelli had not informed the farmer members, in the meetings of their respective Agricultural Consortia, about an operation – Federconsorzi 2 – that was purely financial. Here are some passages.

4) Gianluca Lelli, the (un)spoken words

Gianluca Lelli not only avoids pointing out the legal criticalities of the Federconsorzi 2 project, but he even informs Banca Intesa that, since they are cooperatives, ‘it is better to say, paradoxically, as little as possible in the council’ on the real contents and the actual scope of the project. Skipping outright the information to the assemblies, whose resolutions followed those of the council.

The only opposing voice was that of Pierluigi Guarise, then general director of the Consorzio Agrario del Nord Est. Who, addressing Lelli, comments: ‘The desideratum is very clear, doctor. Let’s say that they are two desiderata that are not exactly aligned, eh? If I may, however’. Ettore Prandini, then president of the North East Agricultural Consortium, did not allow and dismissed Guarise.

5) Illicit influence on the assembly?

‘Whoever, by simulated or fraudulent acts, determines the majority in an assembly, with the aim of obtaining an unjust profit for himself or others, is punished with imprisonment from six months to three years.’ (10)

#VanghePulite

Dario Dongo

ATTACHMENT – TRANSCRIPTION OF THE CONVERSATION LELLI BANCA INTESA
Legend: OPCO = Federconsorzi 2, alias CAI Srl (then SpA); PROPCO = CAI Real Estate Srl