Berlusconi faces new investigation

Italian magistrates are investigating whether Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi tried to bribe a lawyer who is married to a British government minister, legal sources said.

Milan prosecutors are probing whether Mr Berlusconi offered money to David Mills, husband of British Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, to prevent him from revealing details of his dealings with the prime minister's media empire, they said.

The sources told Reuters that anti-graft magistrates Alfredo Robledo and Fabio De Pasquale had already informed a judge of their investigation. The judge must now decide whether to allow the investigation to continue.

Asked about the probe while attending a European Union summit in Brussels, Mr Berlusconi told reporters yesterday: "I don't discuss judicial affairs. The Italian people have understood very well what is going on."

News of the corruption investigation, the latest in a series of probes into Mr Berlusconi's business dealings, was splashed across the front pages of Italian newspapers.

Mr Berlusconi's supporters said the investigation was deliberately leaked to coincide with important regional elections due on April 3 and 4.

Although an investigation does not necessarily lead to criminal charges, opponents called on Mr Berlusconi to quit.

"Faced by these accusations, a prime minister should resign in order to clear his name," former magistrate Antonio di Pietro, now a centre-left politician, was quoted as saying by Corriere della Sera newspaper.

The new investigation stems from a broader case involving allegations of tax evasion, fraud and money laundering at Mr Berlusconi's Mediaset company.

Prosecutors have wrapped up a case against Mr Berlusconi, Mr Mills and 12 other people, recommending they face trial in that probe. An Italian judge must now decide whether to lay charges against them, and it would be highly unusual if the judge decided to drop the case.

Mr Mills could not be reached for comment on the new allegations. His wife's office confirmed that Mr Mills had given a statement to The Guardian newspaper in Britain last month about the earlier investigation.

"I have been informed that magistrates in Milan are seeking to make me a defendant in the trial of Silvio Berlusconi, several employees of his company and others for Italian tax evasion and money laundering," the statement said.

"The prosecutors know that I was never a signatory on any of the accounts in question and that I had no knowledge, or means of knowledge, of what transactions were taking place on them. There is therefore no evidence for the charge and I expect it to be thrown out before any trial begins."

Mr Mills has told magistrates he helped set up two legitimate offshore companies to hold cash for Mr Berlusconi's children.

Prosecutors have been investigating whether the companies were used illegally, with US firms selling TV rights to the two firms in the 1990s and then Mediaset buying them at an inflated price, knocking a €280m hole in company accounts.

Mr Berlusconi, a self-made billionaire who created Italy's largest media empire, has been tried on at least seven occasions for graft. He has never received a definitive guilty verdict.

He accuses prosecutors of leading a politically motivated witch-hunt against him and his family. Last year he was cleared of allegations that he had bribed judges after a court ruled that a statute of limitations had kicked in.