Berlusconi and Mills face trial

[JI7]

The former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will go on trial in Milan on Tuesday alongside 12 other defendants, including his former British lawyer, David Mills.

Together they are accused of tax fraud and money laundering.

It is alleged that Mr Mills - the estranged husband of British Culture secretary Tessa Jowell - helped Mr Berlusconi to set up a network of offshore companies in the early 1990s.

Prosecutors say these offshore companies were used to buy American film rights which were sold at hugely inflated prices to Mr Berlusconi's television company, Mediaset.

It was a complex system designed, they allege, to ensure the former prime minister avoided paying tax.

The men on trial face between four and 12 years in jail if convicted.

They all deny any wrongdoing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6166076.stm

[Alexander]

1. Berlusconi: "If I don't enter politics, I'm going to jail and into bankruptcy"

:rofl:

[Eugene]

2. Fortunately for Berlusconi, his government changed the law.

His efforts to go easy on white-collar crime will apparently pay off handsomely.
He and Mills probably won't go to jail according to the article.

[Eugene]

3. Update: Trial adjourned until Monday. - same link

Berlusconi and Mills trial opens

[eppur_se_muova]

4. Thanks for posting -- I want to see Bu**sh**'s buddy face justice. nt