MILAN, Italy, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Milan prosecutors reportedly are considering adding insider trading to alleged crimes that led to the collapse of Italian dairy conglomerate Parmalat.
Further, auditors from Deloitte & Touche may be added as subjects of the inquiry into auditing irregularities at Parmalat, the Wall Street Journal said Thursday.
People close to Parmalat and familiar with the investigations into its $12.75 billon accounting black hole said Deloitte relied entirely on a memorandum from Grant Thornton, which audited nearly half of Parmalat's assets, according to another report.
Frits Bolkestein, a European commissioner, said he was considering proposals aimed at making it impossible for an auditor not to take general responsibility for a company audit. Some European Union countries enforce this, but there are no EU-wide rules.
Prosecutors in Parma, Italy, now believe Parmalat founder Calisto Tanzi may have funneled as much as $1.9 billion of the group's money into Parmatour, one of his family-owned companies, according to a person involved in the investigation.
