Italy high court confirms Berlusconi ban from public office
Source: Reuters
(Reuters) - Italy's highest appeals court on Tuesday confirmed a two-year ban from public office for centre-right leader and former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi over a conviction for tax fraud.
Berlusconi's lawyer Niccolo Ghedini said he was "extremely disappointed" by the ruling of the Court of Cassation, which diminishes Berlusconi's hopes of running as a candidate in elections for the European Parliament in May.
Berlusconi had appealed against the ban handed down by a Milan appeals court last October. He also faces a four-year prison sentence, commuted to one year likely to be spent doing community service, after he was found guilty in August 2013 of masterminding a complex system of tax evasion by his holding company Fininvest.
Berlusconi, whose Forza Italia party is the largest parliamentary opposition to Matteo Renzi's coalition government, has continued to lead his party from outside parliament since he was stripped of his seat as a senator in November.
Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/03/18/uk-italy-berlusconi-idUKBREA2H27M20140318
= new reply since forum marked as read
