Agnelli heir Elkann faces charges in New York over false kidnap claim (updated)

IIG SpA in Liquidazione

29/11/2016 20:21

(New throughout, adds details, context, share price) 
    By Joseph Ax and Agnieszka Flak  
    NEW YORK/MILAN, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Lapo Elkann, grandson of 
late Fiat patriarch Gianni Agnelli, is facing charges in New 
York for falsely reporting he had been kidnapped, law 
enforcement sources said on Tuesday. 
    Elkann apparently concocted the fake kidnapping scheme in an 
effort to get ransom money after running out of cash during a 
drug-fueled partying binge, one law enforcement source said. 
    He was taken into custody on Sunday around 2 a.m. EST (0700 
GMT), according to the sources. 
    The 39-year-old claimed he was held against his will in an 
apartment on East 28th Street in Manhattan from approximately 6 
p.m. EST (2300 GMT) on Friday until 10:30 p.m. EST on Saturday 
(0330 GMT Sunday). 
    Elkann's publicist declined to comment. The Agnelli family's 
investment holding Exor  EXOR.MI  had no comment.   
    One law enforcement source said Elkann met a 29-year-old man 
through an escort website after he arrived in New York on 
Thursday and that the two men did drugs at the East 28th Street 
apartment before Elkann decided to report the false kidnapping. 
    Elkann, who along with his older brother, Fiat Chrysler 
 FCHA.MI  Chairman John Elkann, is an heir to Italy's biggest 
industrial dynasty, nearly died of a drug overdose in 2005 after 
collapsing in the apartment of a transsexual prostitute. 
    While John is known for his shyness and reserve, Lapo's 
flamboyant style has made him a celebrity in Italy, where he is 
dedicated to family-owned soccer club Juventus  JUVE.MI  and 
owns a stable of luxury sportscars.  
    Elkann no longer holds any positions at Fiat after leaving a 
marketing post years ago, but he is still on the board of 
directors at luxury carmaker Ferrari  RACE.N   RACE.MI , one of 
the various companies controlled by his family.  
    In 2007 he founded sunglasses company Italia Independent 
 IINT.MI , which debuted on the Milan stock market in 2013.  
    Shares in the company, which reported an operating loss of 
4.4 million euros for the first six months of the year and 
recently carried out a capital increase, fell nearly 10 percent 
on Tuesday but later recovered and closed down 3.5 percent. 
    Although the Agnellis are best known for their investment in 
 Fiat Chrysler, Exor also owns reinsurer PartnerRe and has 
significant holdings in trucks and tractor maker CNH Industrial 
 CNHI.MI , The Economist, Juventus and Ferrari, among others.  
    Elkann was released after his arrest and is due in criminal 
court in New York on Jan. 25. 
 
 (Reporting by Joseph Ax in New York and Agnieszka Flak in 
Milan; Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; 
Writing by Agnieszka Flak and Isla Binnie in Milan; editing by 
Mark Heinrich and David Gregorio) 
 ((agnieszka.flak@thomsonreuters.com; +39 02 6612 9450; Reuters 
Messaging: agnieszka.flak.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: USA ELKANN/