Mediaset CEO Pier Silvio Berlusconi Sentenced to Jail Time

MILAN: A Milan court has sentenced Pier Silvio Berlusconi, chief executive of Mediaset, and Fedele Confalonieri, the company’s chairman, to one year and two months in jail on tax charges.

The ruling overturns a previous acquittal in the tax-evasion case. Berlusconi, who is the son of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi; Confalonieri and other Mediaset executives were originally accused of evading taxes for the fiscal year 2007. In July 2014 they were acquitted by a tribunal court in Milan. The sentence has now been overturned by an appeals court, though the other Mediaset execs are not being charged.

In a statement, Mediaset expressed “disbelief” for the verdict. It denies any wrongdoing and says it “has confidence” that Italy’s high court will rule in its favor.