Former Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi To Answer Fraud Charges
Nji Che - All Headline News Staff Writer Milan, Italy (AHN) - An Italian court ruled on Friday that former Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, would face trial later this year over alleged fraud in his family's media empire. The ruling came after four years of investigation into alleged embezzlement accusations. The former Italian government leader was also accused of false accounting, tax fraud and money laundering between 1994 and 1999. Berlusconi has dismissed all the allegations saying that he is innocent. Berlusconi is an Italian politician, entrepreneur, and media proprietor. He is the leader of the Forza Italia political movement, a centre-right party he founded in 1993 in Rome. Berlusconi has twice held office as prime minister of Italy, most recently from 2001 to 2006 when he lost to Romano Prodi. Berlusconi is the founder and principal shareholder of Fininvest, the second largest Italian corporation, which deals in media and financial business and, most notably, comprises three national TV channels. Together these account for nearly half the Italian TV market. Since 1986 he has also gained notoriety as being president of A.C. Milan, a prominent Italian football team. Under his presidency it has won a number of national and international trophies. Forbes magazine has declared Berlusconi Italy's richest person, an allegedly self-made man with personal assets worth $12 billion in 2005, making him the |
