Tanzi was charged with criminal association related to bankruptcy just hours after the company moved into a formal insolvency status, the next step after filing for bankruptcy Wednesday, the Italian news agency, ANSA, reported.

The company has more than 36,000 employees worldwide, and owns several companies in the United States.

There has been no explanation yet how the company hid its insolvency from investors and everyone else, apparently for over a decade.

A total of $12 billion could be missing or may not have existed to begin with, a black eye for regulators in Italy who do not have many international companies to oversee.

Stock and bondholders are beginning to file their own lawsuits but may have lost all their holdings.

The accountants, Grant Thornton, Saturday denied a role in any fraudulent scheme.