'£4bn Parmalat account' ruled out

BANK of America today denied the existence of a $7.7bn (£4.3bn) Parmalat bank account on its books, contradicting claims by the scandal-hit Italian company's creditors.

The bank said an exhaustive search had found no trace of an account. Lawyers acting for a group of creditors said earlier this month that they had traced the funds to a Bank of America branch in New York.

'That account does not exist and never existed at Bank of America,' said a spokeswoman today.

Carlo Zauli, a lawyer for one of the creditor groups, had admitted that he had no documented proof of its existence. However, he claimed on Friday to have traced e7bn (£4.8bn) of US government bonds owned by Parmalat to an account at BoA's New York branch.

Meanwhile, the number of arrests over the scandal grew as the head of a Parma bank was seized. Franco Gorreri, a friend of imprisoned Parmalat founder Calisto Tanzi, had already resigned from the Monte Parma savings bank. Eleven people have now been arrested although none has been charged.

Former finance chief Fausto Tonna and internal audit boss Gianfranco Bocchi yesterday guided investigators through thousands of documents at Parmalat's Parma headquarters.