The chair of Ferrari and Stellantis has agreed to do one year of community service and jointly pay millions of euros to settle a dispute over inheritance tax in Italy.
John Elkann and his siblings Lapo and Ginerva will pay €183m (£159m) to Italian tax authorities, Italian prosecutors said, according to multiple media reports.
Mr Elkann's lawyer stated that the agreement does not include an admission of liability from the Ferrari chair and his siblings.
He mentioned that the prosecutors' decisions were an opportunity to bring this painful affair to a swift and definitive close.
Mr Elkann, a member of one of the most powerful families in Italy, is the grandson of Gianni Agnelli, the former boss of Fiat.
The tax dispute relates to the estate of Mr Elkann's grandmother, Marella Caracciolo, who died in 2019.
Mr Elkann will need to suggest where he could do his community service, which Reuters reported could include helping at a centre for the elderly or a centre helping people with drug addiction.
Paolo Siniscalchi, the Elkanns' attorney, stated in a statement to the BBC: John Elkann's request for probation must be viewed in this context and does not entail, just as the settlement with the tax authorities does not, any admission of responsibility.
If this request is granted, the proceedings against him will be suspended, and upon the successful completion of the probationary period, will conclude with a ruling extinguishing all the charges for which John Elkann is currently under investigation.
This outcome would mirror that of his siblings Ginevra and Lapo, for whom dismissal of charges has been requested.
Prosecutors had alleged the Elkann siblings failed to declare roughly €1bn in assets and €248.5m in income, claiming their grandmother was a Swiss resident.
Prosecutors this week accepted the agreement to pay millions and asked the judge to drop a criminal case against Mr Elkann's brother and sister, which was ultimately dismissed.
The case stems from a wider dispute between the Elkann siblings and their mother, Margherita Agnelli, over the estate of Gianni Agnelli. A civil case is ongoing.
Mr Agnelli passed away more than 20 years ago after transforming Fiat into a major conglomerate.
Ms Agnelli, having inherited €1.2bn, has been battling to overturn agreements signed after her father's death in 2004 to ensure that money is allocated to her five children from a second marriage rather than her three eldest.
Ms Agnelli's lawyers stated that they welcomed the outcome of both the tax and criminal proceedings.
Mr Elkann, who became chair of Ferrari in 2018 and Stellantis in 2021, has been involved with Fiat since 1997 and was previously the company's chair.
