Prosecutor seeks tax trial for Berlusconi
Prosecutors have asked a Rome court to put Silvio Berlusconi and his son on trial for tax evasion.
AP
ROME – Prosecutors have asked a Rome court to put Silvio Berlusconi and his son on trial for tax evasion, judicial sources said on Thursday, part of a broader enquiry into Mediaset, the media group owned by the former Italian prime minister.
Prosecutors say that Mediaset, where his son Pier Silvio is deputy chairman, violated tax laws when it bought the rights for Hollywood films and TV shows. Berlusconi and his son were part of a scheme to defraud the tax authorities of 10 million euros ($13.07 million) by inflating invoices between 2004 and 2005, prosecutors said.
A Mediaset spokeswoman would not immediate comment on the case.
Prosecutors are also seeking to bring charges against 10 other people, including former and present managers at Mediaset.
Berlusconi, who stepped down as prime minister last November, is already facing a series of other legal cases including bribing a lawyer and the “Rubygate” scandal in which he is accused of paying for sex with an underage prostitute. He denies all charges.