The preliminary investigations judge of the Turin Court has rejected the request for community service made by John Elkann in the context of the tax fraud proceedings related to the Agnelli family inheritance.
Elkann, 49, is CEO of the family holding company Exor and chairman of Stellantis and Ferrari. The charges of fraud against the State concern the inheritance of his grandmother, Marella Caracciolo.
In September 2025, with the support of the Turin Prosecutor's Office, Elkann had requested a probationary period of about one year of community service and, together with his siblings Lapo and Ginevra, to pay a negotiated sum of 183 million euros to settle the case.
"This decision changes nothing for us," said lawyers Paolo Siniscalchi and Federico Cecconi in a joint statement, explaining that the case now returns to the prosecutors, who must order a new closure of the investigation.
If the trial proceeds, "we will demonstrate that John Elkann has done nothing wrong," the lawyers added.
Elkann is involved in a complex dispute over the inheritance of his grandfather, Gianni Agnelli, who died in 2003, and his wife Marella Caracciolo, who passed away in 2019.
In December, the Turin preliminary hearing judge ordered the mandatory indictment of Elkann on two counts of tax fraud, rejecting the prosecutor's request to dismiss the case.
The inheritance battle, which has divided one of the country's most prominent business dynasties, pits Elkann's mother, Margherita Agnelli—who inherited 1.2 billion euros—against three of her eight children, including John, the eldest.
In a still ongoing civil case, Margherita is fighting to overturn agreements signed in 2004 in an attempt to ensure that the money inherited from her parents also goes to the five children from her second marriage.
(Translated by Agnese Napoletti, editing by Sabina Suzzi)
