Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi has been sentenced to 4
years in jail for tax evasion by a Milan
court, according to Reuters. The case revolved around a plan by
Berlusconi’s Mediaset company to
purchase the rights to broadcast U.S.
movies on Berlusconi’s private
television networks. The defendants allegedly used a series
of offshore companies to avoid paying
taxes. The price of the films was then
inflated as they were sold internally.
The difference was pocketed by the
defendants, and reportedly amounted to 250 million euros ($320 million). One of his codefendents, Mediaset
chairman Fedele Confalonieri, was
found not guilty. Berlusconi has also been banned from politics for 3 years . Earlier this weekhe announced he was not planning to run in next year’s
election, a move that now looks prescient. The case against him and 10 others had
begun in 2006, but had been delayed
while he was Prime Minister due to
immunity laws. He is widely expected
to appeal the verdict — he has the right
to two appeals, according to Reuters, and will not serve jail time until the
appeals are complete. Legal experts told Bloomberg they
doubted he would serve any jail time at
all due to Berlusconi’s age (76) and the
risk of the statute of limitations
running out. This isn’t Berlusconi’s only legal woes
of course; another Milan court is dealing with the accusations he had
sexual relations with an underage
prostitute.


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