Cay: Parmalat's shell game

Parmalat's Brazilian units transferred $1 billion to the company's accounts in other countries, including the Cayman Islands, reports Italian newspaper Il Sole/24 Ore, citing documents from the Brazilian central bank. 

The money was shifted from Parmalat's Brazilian accounts between 16 April, 1999, and 27 December, 2002, the newspaper reported, citing the central bank's official records of capital movements. About $250 million entered Parmalat's Brazil holdings over the same period, Il Sole said. 

Parmalat, Italy's biggest dairy company, was declared insolvent on 27 December after saying a bank account with almost $5 billion purportedly held by a Cayman subsidiary didn't exist. Founder Calisto Tanzi and 18 other people have been detained in connection with the criminal investigation by Italian prosecutors.