Berlusconi Sentenced To Four Years In Jail

Former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has been sentenced to four years in prison for tax fraud connected to his television channels.

An Italian court delivered the verdict against the ex-leader and 10 others in a six-year-old tax fraud trial.

Lawyers for the 76-year-old, who was also barred from holding political office for five years, said he will lodge an appeal before November 10.

Berlusconi's age, coupled with Italy's lengthy appeals process and statute of limitations, means he is unlikely to go to prison.

If he does, he will only serve one year due to a 2006 amnesty law aimed at reducing prison overcrowding.

The verdict came two days after Berlusconi announced he will not run for premier in upcoming elections.

During the trial, prosecutors alleged the defendants were behind a scheme to purchase the rights to broadcast US movies on Berlusconi's private Mediaset television networks through a series of offshore companies, and had falsely declared the payments to avoid taxes.

Prosecutors further alleged they inflated the price for the TV rights of some 3,000 films as they re-licensed them internally to Berlusconi's networks, pocketing the difference amounting to around ?250m (£200m).

Other charges of false accounting and false statements in financial reports were thrown out because the statute of limitations expired.

The court sentenced Berlusconi and his co-defendants to pay ?10m (£8m) to Italian tax authorities, a statement said.

The trial began in July 2006, but was put on hold by a now-defunct immunity law that shielded Berlusconi from prosecution while he was premier until it was watered down by the constitutional court.

The trial also faced delays as Berlusconi cited conflicts with his schedule as premier.

Berlusconi has been tried numerous times for his business dealings. He has always denied wrongdoing and alleged that the cases were politically motivated.

In each case to date, he has been cleared or seen the statute of limitations expire. The statute of limitations in this case is set to expire sometime next year.

Berlusconi also is on trial in Milan on charges of paying for sex with a prostitute and trying to cover it up.