Products of Alabama, file for bankruptcy protection with combined assets of $414.4M and combined debt of $316.5M. February 27 – Luca Sala admits to and offers to forfeit most of the $27M he misappropriated in a kickback scheme at Parmalat, but still maintains the bank was unaware of his improprieties. The SEC travels to Italy to assist Italian officials in deciphering American involvement in the collapse of Parmalat. March 2004 March 5 – Parmalat seeks $618 million from U.S. banks to recover assets from creditors under an Italian claw back law known as "revocatoria". This law enables insolvent companies to seize assets counterparts received during transactions with them, going back up to five years. At this point, Parmalat's debt is believed to be upwards of $17 billion. March 18 – An Italian judge is asked by prosecutors to order 29 executives and three companies to stand trial on four separate charges. Three executives from Bank of America, Luca Sala, Luis Moncada, and Antonio Luzi, are included in the order. In addition to Bank of America, the Italian affiliates of Deloitte & Touche and Grant Thornton are also ordered to court. Prosecutors believe Bank of America should have been aware of the financial problems at Parmalat when it issued €1.2B, or nearly $1.5B, in Parmalat bonds over the preceding seven years. A fast-track trial was sought, but an Italian court denied expediting proceedings. May 2004 May 24 – Creditors file a $10B class-action lawsuit against former auditors and banks of Parmalat in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Charges include "fraudulent activity and giving misleading information". Hermes, a British pension fund holding more than 2% of Parmalat shares, and Deminor, a European shareholder rights group representing Parmalat bondholders, headed the suit. October 2004 October 7 – Parmalat sues Bank of America for $10B in damages, as it had in July 2004 against Citigroup and in August 2004 against Deloitte & Touche and Grant Thornton. October 19 – Parmalat investors name Bank of America as a defendant in an $8B class-action suit in New York. A previous class-action suit filed on behalf of Parmalat investors was joined into this new suit. October 29 – Bank of America asks an Italian court to include itself as a co-plaintiff in the case against 32 executives, auditors, and lenders in a Milan courtroom, despite the ongoing investigation into Bank of America's involvement in the Parmalat