The first degree trial relating to the named investigation has concluded “Phoenix Arabian”started in 2018 and concerning two companies and some entrepreneurs operating in the wholesale and retail trade of building materials, accused of aggravated fraudulent bankruptcy. The Court of Lamezia Terme acquitted Francesco Pungitore, defended by the lawyer Michele Cerminara, while he issued convictions for the other defendants, assisted by the lawyer Massimiliano Carnovale. Specifically, Vincenzo Pungitore and Francesco Pungitore were sentenced to 3 years in prison, while Giuseppe Pungitore received a sentence of 3 years and 6 months.
During the investigation phase, a preventive seizure was ordered of assets worth 5 million euros, relating to companies which, according to the initial hypotheses of the prosecution, would have been used to continue entrepreneurial activities. However, the Court of Cassation, called to express its opinion as a precautionary measure, annulled the seizure, maintaining the absence of a connection between the bankrupt company and the newly established ones, thus returning the assets to the defendants. Furthermore, the Court established a sentence for compensation of damages in favor of the trusteeship of the bankrupt company, represented by the lawyer Aldo Ferraro.