Embattled former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi said new evidence from Ireland, Hong Kong and Switzerland will “completely dismantle” his May conviction for tax fraud by his Mediaset TV company.
Speaking at a press conference last night Mr Berlusconi, who is facing expulsion tomorrow from the Italian senate, did not detail the “new” information nor explain why it is only now, 10 years after the Mediaset investigation began, that these documents have become available. Instead, he concentrated on what he called “the violation of every legal principle” that has resulted in his expulsion vote tomorrow.
Reading a letter to Democratic Party and M5S protest movement opponents, he appealed to them to pause before they vote him out of parliament, saying: “We are political rivals but that doesn’t mean that we have to forgo on mutual respect. Before you take a decision, look closely at the new evidence, documents and testimonies… And we expect other documents from Hong Kong, Switzerland and Ireland that will completely dismantle the prosecution’s case against me.”
Irish reference
Mr Berlusconi's Irish reference was the second time yesterday Ireland found itself playing a role in the main Italian crisis of the moment. Milan daily Corriere Della Sera claimed that the Irish judicial system has totally failed to collaborate with Milan-based magistrates investigating the affairs of Mr Berlusconi (77), including in particular his Mediatrade TV company.
Sources at Milan’s courthouse confirmed yesterday that senior Milan investigator Fabio De Pasquale has been waiting seven years for a response from his Irish colleagues about Mediatrade. In particular, Mr De Pasquale in July 2006 sent an “international rogatory” to the Department of Justice in relation to Frank Agrama, a US-based TV rights entrepreneur and long time business partner of Mr Berlusconi. There has been no formal Irish response.
Expulsion
In the Mediaset sentence, which may prompt Mr Berlusconi's expulsion from the Senate, judges also gave Mr Agrama a three-year sentence for having both evaded tax and created a $40 million dollar slush fund for Mr Berlusconi. Both men were convicted of a complex fraud whereby films, bought from major US studios via offshore companies, were then sold to Mediaset in Italy at inflated prices.
Public prosecutor De Pasquale’s request to Irish authorities for information concerned similarly suspect operations carried out by another Berlusconi TV company, Mediatrade. In particular, he was looking for information about two Irish-registered companies owned by Frank Agrama, Olympus Trading Ltd and Olympus Trading Ireland Ltd.
Responding to a request from The Irish Times, the department last night said: “Irish authorities are aware that Italian authorities have raised the length of time that proceedings are before the Irish courts with (EU body) Eurojust. The courts are completely independent in the exercise of their functions and it is not open to the Minister to make any further comment.”