The CEO of troubled Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Fabrizio Viola, and its former Chairman Alessandro Profumo are under investigation for alleged false accounting, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The latest development is part of an ongoing probe into misrepresentation of the bank’s finances starting in 2015, and was been confirmed by an MPS spokesperson on Thursday. The case has been handed over to prosecutors in Milan, who are “obliged to open an investigation if they receive a complaint”, according to MPS. The prosecutors now have 18 months to decide whether to shelve the investigation or seek trial for Viola and Profumo.

MPS has been in trouble for several years after overpaying on the purchase of rival Antonveneta and engineering risky derivatives trades back in 2007. Profumo and Viola were hired in 2012 to get the bank back on its feet, and oversaw two cash calls to the tune of $8 billion euros before Profumo stepped down.

Monte dei Paschi performed the worst in Europe in stress tests carried out earlier this year, and is now looking for either a private or public bailout.

19/08/2016