Ex-chairman of France’s Vinci acquitted in trial over multimillion-euro golden parachute
By Philippe Sotto, APFriday, March 26, 2010
Ex-French chairman acquitted in trial over pay
PARIS — A French court on Friday acquitted the former head of one of the world’s biggest construction companies on charges that the multimillion-euro golden parachute the executive received amounted to misappropriation of funds.
Antoine Zacharias, 70, left Vinci SA in 2006 with euro13 million ($17.4 million) in severance pay, a euro2 million-a-year pension paid for by the company and stock options potentially worth additional tens of millions of euros.
The prosecutor plans to appeal the verdict, the prosecutor’s office told The Associated Press.
Zacharias was the first high-profile French executive to face criminal charges for excessive compensation.
He was forced out as Vinci’s chairman after his CEO publicly criticized his retirement package and stock options.
