Posted on 04/26/2005 8:37:14 AM PDT by areafiftyone
Prosecutors are seeking an indictment against Italian Premier Minister Silvio Berlusconi on tax fraud and other charges, according to reports.
More follows...
Just breaking from Sky News. Will post more as it comes in.
They never give up do they...
They've been gunning for him since day one.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is to be charged with tax fraud and embezzlement, according to reports.
Milan prosecutors said they were bringing the charges after a four-year investigation.
The prosecutors allege that Berlusconi's broadcaster Mediaset purchased TV rights for US movies before 1999 through two offshore companies.
They said it falsely declared the purchase costs to Italian tax authorities.
Berlusconi has denied the charges.
Mediaset is controlled by the Berlusconi family's holding company Fininvest.
He has just formed a new government after a split in his centre-right ruling coalition forced him to step down briefly last week.
His alliance suffered a stinging defeat in regional elections earlier this month, and it faces the prospect of a general election by May 2006 which opinion polls show it could lose.
Berlusconi, a self-made billionaire who created Italy's largest media empire, has stood trial on at least seven occasions.
He has never received a definitive guilty verdict and has accused prosecutors in Italy's financial capital Milan of leading a politically motivated witch hunt against him and his family.
4:34pm (UK)Prosecutors Seek to Indict Berlusconi on Fraud Charges
"PA"Milan prosecutors sought indictments against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and 12 others today on charges including tax fraud and embezzlement following a four-year investigation, reports said.
The prosecutors allege that Berlusconi-owned broadcaster Mediaset purchased TV rights for US movies before 1999 through two offshore companies, and falsely declared the purchase costs to tax authorities.
Berlusconi has denied the charges.
Prosecutors asked to try Berlusconi on charges of false accounting, tax fraud and embezzlement, the ANSA and Apcom news agencies said.
One of the prosecutors involved in the case confirmed the reports to The Associated Press but asked not to be named.
Among the others prosecutors hope to indict is Mediaset Spa Chairman Fedele Confalonieri.
The case is the latest in a series of investigations against Berlusconi, a media magnate-turned-politician who says he is a victim of a campaign by “communist” magistrates.
Berlusconi was acquitted of corruption in December in a separate case in which he was accused of bribing judges to sway the sale of the state food conglomerate SME in the 1980s.
Thanks for the update. Amazing how they keep trying to get Berlusconi, Blair and Bush. They just never stop! Stupid is as Stupid does!
Did Ronnie Earle move to Rome?
I like PM Berlesconi. I'm wondering who hired/activated the prosecutors, and based upon WHAT. Meaning.. who has plans to seize upon the work he has created? Far stretched, perhaps/perhaps not, Soros/Turner have been turning some major pages in stock, lately.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.