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Frank Agrama
Farouk "Frank" Agrama (Arabic: فرنك عجرمة; January 1, 1930 – April 25, 2023) was an Egyptian-born American film director and producer, writer and businessman. He was the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Agrama made a number of low-budget films which included The Godfather's Friend, Queen Kong and Dawn of the Mummy. He also began selling broadcast rights from Paramount Pictures, which he then sold to his friend, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, to the latter's Mediaset broadcasting and multimedia company.
In 1983, he secured a deal with the South African Broadcasting Corporation ("SABC") to distribute the controversial miniseries Shaka Zulu. In the same year, he founded "Harmony Gold USA, Inc.". Despite Shaka Zulu's massive success worldwide, Agrama's skillful negotiations left SABC to actually lose money, while Harmony Gold kept most of the profit. Harmony Gold would eventually be known for producing films such as Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, other Robotech animated works and the 1993 miniseries Heidi.
According to the Los Angeles Times, prosecutors of Milan, on November 21, 2006, charged Agrama, along with former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and ten others, in a trial over tax fraud, embezzlement and false accounting to Mediaset. In fact, on October 26, 2012, Agrama was convicted after this lengthy trial, where Berlusconi, or his group, had allegedly bought USA film rights by him to the Mediaset media company at inflated prices. As his age was over 70 years, he was exempted from direct imprisonment and served no actual jail time.
In 2013, Agrama and several others, including Mediaset Vice President Pier Silvio Berlusconi, son of Silvio, and the Hong Kong–based Wiltshire Group of Companies were under trial for tax evasion and embezzlement with the broadcasting rights firm, Mediatrade. In 2014, all parties were acquitted in the first instance due to expiring statute of limitations. A new appeals hearing took place on January 20, 2016. All charges against Agrama and five others were dropped, while Mediaset CEO Pier Silvio Berlusconi and President Fedele Confalonieri were sentenced to 14 months imprisonment.
Agrama died on April 25, 2023, at the age of 93.
The Mediaset trial was launched in April 2005, with indictment of 14 persons (including Silvio Berlusconi and Agrama) for having committed: (A) false accounting and embezzlement in order to mask payments of substantial "black funds", committed in 1988 to 1994. (B) tax fraud equal in total to more than €62 million (120bn lira), committed in 1988 to 1998.
Both indictments were related to achievement of personal tax evasion, through illicit trade of movie rights between Mediaset and secret fictive foreign companies situated in tax haven nations, causing fictive losses for Mediaset, with the trade gains being accumulated by the foreign companies owned (in this case, Harmony Gold) by the indicted tax fraudsters, who ultimately had the gains paid out as personal profit without paying tax in Italy.
Frank Agrama
Farouk "Frank" Agrama (Arabic: فرنك عجرمة; January 1, 1930 – April 25, 2023) was an Egyptian-born American film director and producer, writer and businessman. He was the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Agrama made a number of low-budget films which included The Godfather's Friend, Queen Kong and Dawn of the Mummy. He also began selling broadcast rights from Paramount Pictures, which he then sold to his friend, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, to the latter's Mediaset broadcasting and multimedia company.
In 1983, he secured a deal with the South African Broadcasting Corporation ("SABC") to distribute the controversial miniseries Shaka Zulu. In the same year, he founded "Harmony Gold USA, Inc.". Despite Shaka Zulu's massive success worldwide, Agrama's skillful negotiations left SABC to actually lose money, while Harmony Gold kept most of the profit. Harmony Gold would eventually be known for producing films such as Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, other Robotech animated works and the 1993 miniseries Heidi.
According to the Los Angeles Times, prosecutors of Milan, on November 21, 2006, charged Agrama, along with former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and ten others, in a trial over tax fraud, embezzlement and false accounting to Mediaset. In fact, on October 26, 2012, Agrama was convicted after this lengthy trial, where Berlusconi, or his group, had allegedly bought USA film rights by him to the Mediaset media company at inflated prices. As his age was over 70 years, he was exempted from direct imprisonment and served no actual jail time.
In 2013, Agrama and several others, including Mediaset Vice President Pier Silvio Berlusconi, son of Silvio, and the Hong Kong–based Wiltshire Group of Companies were under trial for tax evasion and embezzlement with the broadcasting rights firm, Mediatrade. In 2014, all parties were acquitted in the first instance due to expiring statute of limitations. A new appeals hearing took place on January 20, 2016. All charges against Agrama and five others were dropped, while Mediaset CEO Pier Silvio Berlusconi and President Fedele Confalonieri were sentenced to 14 months imprisonment.
Agrama died on April 25, 2023, at the age of 93.
The Mediaset trial was launched in April 2005, with indictment of 14 persons (including Silvio Berlusconi and Agrama) for having committed: (A) false accounting and embezzlement in order to mask payments of substantial "black funds", committed in 1988 to 1994. (B) tax fraud equal in total to more than €62 million (120bn lira), committed in 1988 to 1998.
Both indictments were related to achievement of personal tax evasion, through illicit trade of movie rights between Mediaset and secret fictive foreign companies situated in tax haven nations, causing fictive losses for Mediaset, with the trade gains being accumulated by the foreign companies owned (in this case, Harmony Gold) by the indicted tax fraudsters, who ultimately had the gains paid out as personal profit without paying tax in Italy.