Flavio Becca is charged with money laundering and misusing company assets. The prosecution has asked for a 3-year sentence in prison and a fine of EUR 250,000. This included the purchase of over 850 luxury watches with a combined value of EUR18million.
According to magistrates, a large number of these watches were bought between 2004 and 2011, through 18 of Becca’s businesses, even though their commercial activities had nothing to do with luxury watchmaking. The prosecutor demanded that 324 watches be confiscated.
Flavio Becca was never convicted, and the events took place more than a decade ago. According to magistrate Guy Breistroff, full punishment would not be demanded by the public prosecutor’s Office. Becca purchased 643 watches through her company. 319 of them would not be confiscated because they belonged to Promobe Finance SPF.
Becca pleaded guilty. The court heard that he treated his businesses like his personal property. Breistroff stated that he would treat his business accounts as a private bank to purchase goods, and would have minimal interest rates and loan repayments. The magistrate called it his “Bad Bank”.
The watches were mistakenly described as strawberries by tax authorities in 2010. There were also doubts about the classification of the watches as “free gifts”. Status of “Promobe Finances”, however, would not permit long-term investments in watches. However, Becca wouldn’t have wanted to set up such a company, according to Mr Grasso. He had previously argued in favor of the civil party Ikodomos. The trial will be closed on Thursday morning following a defense reply.
