BT Europe Chief Sciolla Resigns

BT’s continental Europe chief Corrado Sciolla has resigned as the fallout from an accounting scandal at the British phone carrier’s Italian unit spreads, according to Bloomberg. Sciolla, who spent more than a decade at BT in roles including head of Italy, resigned to pursue other opportunities, BT said in an e-mail.

Luis Alvarez, the head of BT’s global services division, is assuming Sciolla’s duties on an interim basis. “Corrado Sciolla has decided to resign in order to pursue new professional opportunities,“ BT said. “Corrado has made many positive contributions to BT during his time with the company. We would like to thank him for his commitment to the company.“

Sciolla’s departure follows the disclosure of a deeper accounting debacle in Italy by BT last month, which sent its shares plunging and challenged its credibility in the eyes of analysts and investors. Prosecutors in Milan have opened a criminal probe into allegations of false accounting and embezzlement, following disclosure of a 530 million-pound writedown over the irregularities. Prosecutor Fabio De Pasquale said last month that the investigation wasn’t then focused on any specific individual.

Sciolla signed an agreement to leave after negotiating his severance terms over the past two weeks, said people familiar with the matter. He may now join the private-equity industry, they said. Representatives for BT declined to comment beyond the statement. The carrier said last month Sciolla would be leaving the company because the irregularities “happened on his watch.“

BT already appointed company veteran Andrea Giovanni Bono to take over the Italian unit as of the start of this month. Former BT Italia chief Gianluca Cimini was suspended in September with local operating chief Stefania Truzzoli. Both have since left the company.