Legal woes confront Italo prime minister
Tycoon also tucks appellate court win under his belt
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But there was also some good news. An appeals court in Milan ruled that Berlusconi will not stand trial on 10-year-old bribery charges related to the acquisition of Arnoldo Mondadori, Italy's largest publishing house. Four of his close associates will be tried in October for conspiring to pervert the course of justice by bribing a judge who ruled on the share ownership of Mondadori.
But that one ray of good news was not enough to brighten Berlusconi's day. Judicial sources said that revenue agents spent Monday examining documents at Mediaset's Milan offices in an investigation of tax breaks the TV group received under the so-called Tremonti Law.
Enacted when Berlusconi was briefly prime minister in 1994 and drawn up by then-minister of finance Giulio Tremonti, who is now economy minister, the tax breaks were given to all companies reinvesting profits.
Mediaset was granted 240 billion lira ($110 million) under the deal because it acquired nearly $1 billion in TV rights from international producers and U.S. majors. According to the Milanese magistrates, Mediaset bought part of these TV rights through offshore companies controlled by parent company Fininvest -- and "intra-group" deals are not eligible.
The opposition had always criticized Berlusconi for the Tremonti Law, because it favored his personal businesses.
Wider investigation
In a separate move, a Swiss court opened the way for a wider investigation into the media mogul's affairs in Spain.The court has granted Spanish prosecutors access to Berlusconi's Swiss bank accounts as part of an investigation into alleged tax fraud involving his controlling stake in Spain's broadcaster Telecinco.
In the meantime, Berlusconi continues to vow to solve the conflicts of interest between his political and business affairs before the end of summer. He has proposed that a team of three people should "oversee" his financial activities. Who will appoint them is unclear.
