The corruption investigation launched by the Genoa Prosecutor's Office against former Ligurian President Giovanni Toti—who resigned on July 26, 2024—also implicated Aldo Spinelli, leading to significant changes within the company he founded. The latest development in this transformation is the transfer of Aldo Spinelli's majority stake to his son, Roberto, through a usufruct arrangement. This decision is expected to result in the lifting of Aldo Spinelli's house arrest, as his lawyers have already requested, with the Prosecutor's Office expressing a favorable opinion, considering a ban on the entrepreneur's activities sufficient.
A usufruct on a company's shares allows the beneficiary not only to receive any dividends but, more importantly in this case, to exercise voting rights at shareholders' meetings. Aldo Spinelli retains the bare ownership, which entitles him to sell the shares and, in some cases, challenge corporate resolutions. In practice, the leadership of the Group is now in the hands of Roberto Spinelli.
The upheaval within the Genoa-based company began on May 13, 2024, immediately following Aldo Spinelli's arrest. The board of directors of Spinelli Srl replaced the leadership, appointing Giovanni Benedetti as president and naming Simona Brassesco (the group's CFO) and Mirco Panariello (head of compliance) as managing directors. Additionally, Juan Pablo Richards Bravo and Matthias Frank Mueller were appointed as board members representing the German company Hapag-Lloyd, which has controlled 49% of the Spinelli Group since 2023.
The second significant event occurred on July 29 with the appointment of David Ermini as president of Spininvest Srl, the majority shareholder of the entire Group. Joining him on the board are Vittorio Gattone and Nicola Scondnik. This new trio replaces Aldo and Roberto Spinelli at the company's helm following their resignations in May, prompted by the ongoing Prosecutor's investigation. Gattone and Scondnik previously held the position of CFO at Spininvest.
