Leonardo CEO found guilty of fraud

ROME — The CEO of Leonardo, Alessandro Profumo, has been found guilty by an Italian court for committing fraud in 2015 when he was at the helm of a major Italian bank, but he will keep him job, according to the company.

Profumo was given a six-year jail sentence Thursday for fraud related to when he was CEO of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, a position he held before he was appointed to run the Italian defense company Leonardo in 2017.

Italian jail sentences only become effective after cases are heard by an appeals court and then by Italy’s Supreme Court — a process that can take years.

In the meantime, Leonardo said it is standing by Profumo. “The Company would like to make clear that the conditions do not exist for the cessation of his role as Chief Executive Officer of Leonardo. The Company expresses its full confidence in the actions of Mr. Profumo and wishes for his continuation in the role,” the firm said in a statement.

The court found Profumo guilty of market rigging and false accounting at the bank in the first half of 2015. In addition to the jail term, he was handed a €2.5 million (U.S. $2.9 million) fine and prohibited from managing a company for two years.

Sources on Profumo’s defense team told Italian news agency Radiocor he would likely be able to carry on as Leonardo CEO since the sentence was not final.

“We shall read carefully the reasons [for the verdict] and shall appeal the sentence, which we find to be erroneous,” said lawyer Adriano Raffaelli.

Profumo is now the fourth Leonardo CEO in recent years to be involved in a trial or police investigation.