Leonardo chief faces trial over Monte Paschi

THE chief executive of Leonardo, the international defence group with a major UK presence, faces trial in Italy over alleged financial crimes.

Alessandro Profumo, who was appointed as head of Italian state-controlled Leonardo last year, faces allegations of market-rigging and accounting fraud.

The claims are understood to relate to the use of derivative financial instruments and date from his time as chairman of the part-nationalised Tuscan lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena.

Mr Profumo will stand trial in Milan with Fabrizio Viola, who was chief executive of the bank at the time. Both men have denied any wrongdoing.

Leonardo is the second largest defence company operating in the UK, behind only BAE Systems. It specialises in electronics systems, having taken control of historic British companies such as GEC and Marconi.

Mr Profumo is not the first Leonardo chief to face criminal charges in Italy. His predecessor, Mauro Moretti, was convicted last year for his role in a train crash eight years ago that killed 32. He received an eight-year sentence as boss of rail company Ferrovie dello Stato, which he is appealing against.