Italian judge orders prosecutors to seek tax fraud indictment for Exor CEO Elkann

MILAN, Dec ‌15 (Reuters) - An Italian judge ordered prosecutors on Monday to seek the indictment ‍of John ‌Elkann, the chairman of carmakers Stellantis and Ferrari, on two counts of tax fraud ⁠linked to a dispute over the ‌inheritance of his grandmother.

By issuing the order, the judge in the northern city of Turin rejected an earlier request by prosecutors to drop the charges.

Elkann, the scion of the Agnelli family, is ⁠also the CEO of its holding company Exor . The judge's decision was disclosed to Reuters by a judicial ​source and confirmed by an Exor spokesman.

The case involves the ‌inheritance left by Elkann's grandmother Marella ⁠Caracciolo, the wife of the late Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli. The judge accepted the prosecutors' request to drop proceedings against Elkann's siblings Lapo and Ginevra.

John Elkann's lawyers ​said in a note they would appeal against the decision, which was "difficult to understand, as it conflicts with the requests of the public prosecutors, which were solid and well-argued for all our clients."

"We reiterate our firm conviction that the charges brought against ​John ‍Elkann are completely unfounded and ​reaffirm our strong belief that he has always acted correctly and in full compliance with the law," they said.

Elkann agreed in September to do a year of community service and pay Italian tax authorities a sum of 183 million euros ($215 million) to settle the tax case, without implying any admission of guilt.

The two counts prosecutors must now pursue ⁠relate to alleged tax fraud for the years 2018 and 2019.

The order does not automatically mean there will be a ​trial. The prosecutors must now file a request for indictment, after which a judge will set a preliminary hearing to decide whether to send Elkann to trial or dismiss the case.

Meanwhile, a separate Turin judge postponed to February ‌11 a hearing to approve Elkann's request to serve community service for other charges in the case.

($1 = 0.8507 euros)

(Reporting by Emilio Parodi and Giulio Piovaccari, editing by Gavin Jones)