Italian court to investigate Techint executives

An Italian court overseeing the investigation into alleged improper payments made in Brazil for the supposed benefit of Confab Industrial S.A. has decided to move the case to trial, according to the Techint Group. Confab, which is subsidiary of the group, manufactures, supplies and exports welded steel pipes, as well as producing equipment for the energy sector.

The case involves several Techint group executives and others. These include chairman and ceo, Paolo Rocca, board members Gianfelice Rocca and Roberto Bonatti, and the company’s controlling shareholder, San Faustin S.A., Techint subsidiary Tenaris says in a note monitored by Kallanish.  

“The company’s outside counsel previously reviewed the Italian prosecutors’ investigative file and has informed the board that neither that file nor this magistrate’s decision sets forth evidence of involvement by any of the three directors in the alleged wrongdoing,” Tenaris comments. 

Accordingly, the Techint board has concluded that no particular action is warranted at the present time, “… other than inviting the referred board members to continue discharging their respective responsibilities with the full support of the board,” Tenaris adds.

The Techint group is the largest steelmaker in Latin America. The company operates in the engineering, construction, steel, mining, oil & gas, industrial plants and healthcare sectors through a number of subsidiary companies including Ternium and Tenaris.