Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi faces court hearings next week into whether he should stand trial in a corruption case.
The hearings are the latest chapter in Mr Berlusconi's longstanding legal struggles and are the most important development in court since he narrowly lost the election to Romano Prodi's centre-left coalition in April.
Milan prosecutors have accused Mr Berlusconi of paying lawyer David Mills, the estranged husband of British Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, a kickback of $600,000 for not revealing details of his media empire when he testified in two court cases.
Judge Fabio Paparella will open hearings on Monday in Milan into whether Mr Berlusconi and Mr Mills should stand trial. In Italy, a judge must decide whether an accused should stand trial before formal charges are filed.
Both Mr Berlusconi and Mr Mills have denied wrongdoing. Neither were expected to attend Monday's session, which lawyers said would likely be procedural.
Subsequent hearings could take weeks or months before the judge decides whether to charge the men.
Three days before the April vote, Mr Berlusconi accused prosecutors of plotting to ruin his political ambitions by seeking charges against him before the election. He presented bank statements that he said proved the money in question had come from a Naples shipbuilder.
The involvement of corporate lawyer Mr Mills in the investigation stirred up a political storm in Britain and broke up his 27-year marriage to Ms Jowell.
Mr Berlusconi, Mr Mills and 12 others are under investigation in a related fraud case involving Mr Berlusconi's media company, Mediaset.