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The Institute for Ethics and Economic Policy (IEEP) Fordham is a renowned Jesuit institution with over 165-year history of emphasis on ethics. |
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Berlusconi cleared of corruption. It was reported that Silvio Berlusconi who was accused of
bribing judges in the 1980s to favour his business interests was acquitted of
a charge that he had bribed judges in connection with the sale in the 1980s
of the SME state food conglomerate. (BBC
News,
Judges urged to jail Berlusconi. A prosecutor has urged a court in
the Italian city of
Former Parmalat
Auditors Must Stand Trial. An Italian judge opened preliminary
hearings into the 14-billion-euro collapse of Parmalat and immediately ruled
that two former auditors of the food group should stand trial in one of Berlusconi trial resumes amid European parliamentary
campaign. Italian
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s trial on charges of bribing judges has
resumed in Ex-Chairman of Parmalat Division Placed on House Arrest. The ex-chairman of Parmalat’s Bank’s Ex-Chief Arrested
in Parmalat Case. Italian police officials have arrested a former
president of a regional bank as the investigation into the collapse of
Parmalat continued. The bank president, Franco Gorreri was finance chief of
Parmalat until 1992 and had continued to work as a part-time employee of
Parmalat. In nearby Collecchio, Fausto Tonna, another former finance chief of
Parmalat, was escorted by investigators to his former office. Tonna was
accompanied by a former Parmalat accountant, Gianfranco Bocchi. (New York
Times,
Global: Bank of America offices in
Milan raided. Two partners of accounting firm Deloitte, Adolfo
Mamoli and Giuseppe Rovelli, were formally placed under investigation as
Italian magistrates expanded their inquiries into Parmalat. Deloitte, the
bankrupt dairy group’s chief auditor and one of the big four global
accounting firms, denies any wrongdoing but will be alarmed at the possible
damage to its reputation. Investigators raided Bank of America’s offices in
Italy’s worst case of corruption. Milan judges published their reasons for convicting the former lawyer of the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, earlier this year, and described the corruption case as the biggest in Italy’s history. Cesare Previti’s conviction in April put severe pressure on Berlusconi. Fininvest, the Berlusconi family’s main holding company, was accused of working with Previti to bribe a judge into letting the company buy the publisher Mondadori in 1991. (The Guardian, August 7, 2003 summary by Sherldine Tomlinson).
JOURNALISTS REFUSE TO WORK AFTER EDITOR RESIGNS Following the resignation of Ferruccio de Bertoli – editor of Corriere della Sera an Italian newspaper, which is allegedly under pressure from the government, its journalists went of strike called "in protest at a change that has been brought about by a method with no clarity". Ferruccio de Bertoli resigned on Friday after lawyer for Silvio Berlusconi filed defamation suits against the paper in connection with purportedly hostile coverage of corruption cases involving the Prime Minister. (The Independent, 02 June 2003, summary by Hanh Vu).
POLITICIANS DETAINED Two Italian parliamentarians were arrested on suspicion of espionage by Police in Switzerland. Source from federal justice authorities, the two politicians were questioned in the city of Lugano where they, as part of an official committee, were probing $55m. (SFr 73m.) in kickbacks allegedly paid to former representatives of the Italian government. The scandal dates back to 1997 when Italy's state telecommunications company acquired a 29% stake in Serbia Telecom. (Swissinfo 09 May 2003, summary by Hanh Vu).
Convicted inside trader named CEO of prominent Italian holding company. Emilio Gnutti, who is convicted of insider trading, was named chief executive of a private company. Gnutti, was convicted last year of exchanging privileged information in 1999 about a series of transactions that linked to an industrial holding company from which Gnutti was buying assets. He was sentenced to eight months in prison. If the appeals court upholds the conviction, Gnutti will have to leave his posts. (Nando Times, May 5, 2003 summary by Sherldine Tomlinson).
ASSOCIATE OF ITALIAN PREMIER CONVICTED OF CORRUPTION.A former defense minister and associate of Premier Silvio Berlusconi was convicted of corruption Tuesday. Cesare Previti was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was also accused to influencing judges during his trial. Berlusconi defends Previti and says it is an attack on conservatives by leftists. Berlusconi and Previti are defendants in another trial, accused of bribing judges. Berlusconi's convictions in other trials have been reversed or annulled. He has also been accused of changing laws to benefit himself and his associates. (The Nando Times, April 30, 2003, summary by Laurie Morra).
13-year
jail term sought for lawmaker in Italy. Prosecutors have asked for a
13-year jail term for a conservative lawmaker and associate of Premier Silvio
Berlusconi who was charged with bribing judges. After more than two years of
hearings, prosecutor Ilda Boccassini urged judges to convict Cesare Previti,
his lawyers, and the judges accused of accepting the bribes on charges of
corruption. She also asked that they be barred from holding public office.
Prosecutors accuse Previti and lawyers Attilio Pacifico and Giovanni Acampora
of having received $43 million from the former owners of oil company SIR in
1994 to bribe three judges to settle a case in SIR´s favour. (North Jersey News, October 21, 2002, summary
by Sherldine Tomlinson)
SENATE PASSES DISPUTED BILL. The
Italian Senate approved a controversial bill, which, according to opposition
members, will help Prime Minister S. Berlusconi avoid the charges of bribing
a judge to win control of a food company in the 1980s. The bill will allow
defendants to request the annulment of a case, if they have a “legitimate
suspicion” that the judges are biased against them. Thus, it is claimed, Mr
Berlusconi may argue that the judges are biased, so that the trial is
restarted. Nevertheless, if the trial is restarted, Mr Berlusconi might be
acquitted due to the statute of limitations. (BBC News, August 2, 2002,
summary by Pavlidis George). BERLUSCONI UNSUCCESSFUL IN BID TO SUSPEND CORRUPTION TRIAL
ITALIAN MAGISTRATES CALL STRIKE ON LEGAL CHANGE Italy’s magistrates have called for a strike during the weekend of June 6 to protest Prime Minister Belusconi’s proposed changes to Italy’s judicial system. The controversial billionaire media-mogul wants to put the magistrates under the control of the Interior Ministry thereby increasing political control over Italy’s judicial system. (BBC World Monitoring, April 22, 2002, summarized by Elizabeth Hatleli).
PRIME MINISTER’S BROTHER WANTS PLEA BARGAIN IN CORRUPTION CASE. Paolo Berlusconi, brother of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, wants to pay 52 million euros as part of a plea bargain involving corruption charges stemming from his involvement with Simec, the company responsible for Cerro Maggiore, a Milan waste disposal plant. Berlusconi is accused of overcharging the city of Milan and the region of Lombardy for waste disposal services. (BBC Monitoring International Reports, April 22, 2002 summarized by Elizabeth Hatleli).
UN INSPECTOR URGES NO DELAYS IN BERLUSCONI TRIALS Top UN investigator Param Cumaraswamy visited Rome and Milan from March 12-14 and urged Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi not to delay his corruption trial proceedings. Cumaraswamy stated that because Berlusconi and co-defendant Cesare Previti occupy positions of power, any delays in the judicial process would be looked upon with suspicion. He argued that because the traditional appeals process is available to them, there isn’t any reason not to proceed. He also urged that the government and the judiciary should seriously address legal reform in general. (Business Recorder, April 4, 2002 Summarized by Elizabeth Hatleli)
THE ITALIAN CONNECTION. Prime Minister and media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi is close to controlling 90% of Italy’s television stations. Berlusconi already controls three out of four of Italy’s private stations and now, with his government in power, he’s poised to take over the state owned RAI television. Although government influence on RAI is nothing new, what makes this case different is that Berlusconi already controls, via his private television stations, 45% of the viewing audience in a country where the press and radio are relatively weak. Control of RAI would give Berlusconi an unprecedented level of control over information. (The Australian March 7, 2002 summarized by Elizabeth Hatleli).
JUSTICE MINISTER ORDERS JUDGE TRANSFER IN PREMIER’S TRIAL Justice Minister Roberto Castelli has ordered the judge presiding over the corruption trail of Premier Silvio Berlusconi to be transferred to a new post. The unexpected transfer will annul the present proceedings, force the trial to start again from scratch, and according to critics, increase the probability that the statute of limitations will be reached before a sentence can be passed. (BBC Monitoring International Reports, January 9, 2002 summary by Elizabeth Hatleli).
TOP MAGISTRATE ACCUSES MINISTER OF WORKING TO SINK BERLUSCONI TRIAL Milan’s Chief Prosecutor Gerardo D’Ambrosio said that the decision by Justice Minister Roberto Castelli to transfer the judge presiding over the Berlusconi corruption trial to another post threatens both democracy and the independence of the judiciary. Berlusconi and his former lawyer, Cesare Previti, are accused of bribing judges in order to gain control over the state-owned food conglomerate, SME. Critics argue that the transfer will increase the probability that the statute of limitations will run out before a verdict can be reached. (Deutsche Presse-Agentur, January 9, 2002 summary by Elizabeth Hatleli).
ITALIAN MINISTER TO SUE PROSECUTOR Interior Minister Claudio Scajola accused Milan’s prosecutor general, Francesco Saverio Borrelli, of making false assertions after Borrelli stated that the government’s actions surrounding the Berlusconi corruption trial are subverting Italy’s legal system. Scajola was behind an attempt last week to transfer a judge presiding over Berlusconi’s trial. Critics contend that the move was designed to prevent the case from succeeding. Over the weekend judges and magistrates protested nationwide and complained that the government was hampering their independence. (The Daily Telegraph (London), January 14, 2002 summary by Elizabeth Hatleli).
HIGHEST APPEALS COURT OF CASSATION REJECTS MOTION TO DISMISS CASE AGAINST PREMIER BERLUSCONI A court in Milan has rejected the motion to dismiss the case against Premier Silvio Berlusconi and former Defence Minister Cesare Previti on charges of alleged bribing to obtain the SME retail empire in mid-80s. The defence lawyers argued that in a similar case of bribing judges in the 1990 tussle over the Mondadori publishing empire, the same court had acquitted Berlusconi of charges last month, and asked for the same grounds to be applied to the current case. The court has clarified that the crime of “corruption in judicial acts” was not in existence at the time of the Mondadori bribery case, so Berlusconi could not be accused on those grounds in that case. Hence, those acquittal grounds cannot be applied to the current case. The court recognised the corruptibility of the magistrates, but dismissed Berlusconi’s lawyer’s suit for sentence of innocence. (Financial Times, (ANSA) December 27, 2001, summary by Aruna Balakrishnan).
SPANISH MAGISTRATE DEMANDS TRIAL OF ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER ON TAX FRAUDS. Spanish magistrate Baltasar Garzon has called on his government under prime minister Jose Maria Aznar to seek the trial of Italian Prime Minster, Silvio Berlusconi for alleged violation of laws and tax frauds of Finvest, a company promoted by Berlusconi with Television interests in Spain. Finvest is alleged to have not only taken up an 80% ownership of Telecino channel in Spain when the law limits such buying to 25% but also defrauded tax authorities to the tune of £4m. In the wake of the recent series of laws passed by Mr Berlusconi’s Government on false accounting, extradition and conflict of interest, again supposedly in self-interest of Berlusconi, and the strong ties between the Spanish and the Italian Prime minister, Garzon’s call is unlikely to have any result. Garzon, renowned for calling for the trial of former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet, has suggested that the Spanish Government make the extra ordinary move of asking Italy to drop prime ministerial immunity, so that the trial could proceed in Spain. He demanded to know the reason for the 8- month delay in the petition to the European Parliament asking for revoking Berlusconi’s partial immunity so as to prosecute him. This delay ostensibly allowed sufficient time for Berlusconi to avoid corruption charges before he was elected Prime Minister further to which he gained complete immunity and also created a haven for himself. (The Guardian, October 11, 2001, summary by Aruna Balakrishnan).
ROME TO CHANGE ACCOUNTING LAW. Italy’s chamber of deputies has approved legislation to decriminalize accounting fraud, which would absolve Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in his cases. Under this legislation, the statute of limitations would be halved and prison terms would be substantially shortened. In an opposition of the Berlusconi government’s interest, the Senate has given preliminary approval to an accord that would establish judicial co-operation guidelines between Switzerland and Italy which may impede the exchange of sensitive information in regards to Berlusconi’s businesses. The Senate will tackle this accounting fraud bill in the fall, while the chamber of deputies will have to ratify the Italian- Swiss agreement. (Financial Times, August 6, 2001, summary by Kelli Johnston).
NEWLY ELECTED PRIME MINISTER HAS STAINED DOSSIER Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the world’s sixth largest industrialized economy, will host a Group of Seven (G7) summit in July and discuss promotion of democracy and fighting poverty with George Bush, Tony Blair, Gerhard Schroeder, and others. Berlusconi has been accused of degrading democracy for influencing public opinion through his media empire and amassing a controversial 9 billion Pd. Fortune. He has been accused of money laundering, tax evasion, bribery, and complicity with the Mafia, but convictions on three of the charges were quashed due to technicalities. Four separate charges – false accounting, bribing judges, tax fraud, and breaking anti-trust laws are pending. He denies all charges, however, Europe will keep a ‘vigilant’ eye on his actions in office. (The Guardian, May 15, 2001, summary by Marg Reynolds).
BERLUSCONI DEFIES ACCUSATIONS OF CORRUPTION Baltasar Garzon, Spanish judge, has asked the Foreign Ministry to give parliamentary immunity on Silvio Berlusconi to expedite investigation of alleged tax fraud. The popular centre-right opposition leader is confident of triumph in the national election of May 13, despite warnings to the voters from prominent publication in Europe and elsewhere. Berlusconi boasts winning a battle with investigating magistrates as three convictions were overturned on appeal and four current cases are viewed as evidence of a left-wing conspiracy. His campaign themes include large public works projects, lower taxes, less red tape, safer streets and 1.5 million new jobs. Reining in pensions and public spending to meet euro-zone rules were not mentioned in his campaign. (The Guardian, May 2, 2001, summary by Marg Reynolds).
BERLUSCONI TO SUE THE ECONOMIST FOR CALLING HIM ‘UNFIT’ Silvio Berlusconi, opposition leader, has been suggested by the Economist magazine to be ‘unfit’ to lead the country, although he is assumed to be on the verge of being elected prime minister. He is under investigation for money laundering; complicity in murder; connections with the mafia; tax evasion; bribing politicians, judges, and tax police; false accounting; and breaking anti-trust laws in connection with his holding company, Fininvest. Opinion polls suggest Mr. Berlusconi’s coalition is favored in the upcoming election to be held on May 13. (The Guardian, Apr 28, 2001, summary by Marg Reynolds).
MAYOR OF SICILIAN TOWN ARRESTED ON GRAFT CHARGES Nino Laudicina, of the Christian Demoncratic Union (CDU) party and also mayor of Trapani, has been arrested along with six other people on accusations of village council contract allocation irregularities. (BBC Monitoring, Apr 24, 2001, summary by Marg Reynolds).
LAGONEGRO Cardinal Michele Giordano, Archbishop of Naples, is charged with conspiracy, continued loan sharking and misappropriation. He admits giving his brother, Mario (also on trial) cheques totalling more than a billion lire, including an entire book of blank cheques. (WWW.Telegrpha.Com, issue 2033, December 18,2000, summary by B. Gray).
Region of Lombardy, ``TANGENTOPOLI`` REVISITED, NINE CHARGED WITH CORRUPT AWARDS OF CONTRACTS. Tangentopoli is the name of the bribery scandals that Italy experienced a decade ago. Yesterday, nine politicians and industrialists were arrested in Lombardy; they are accused of corruption in the awarding of public contracts. Massimo Guarischi, member of Forza Italia (Silvio Berlusconi) and head of the Lombardy regional assembly budget committee is now, together with eight others, under investigation over civil engineering contracts signed in 1996-97. The contracts were concerning emergency work after floods and landslides in Lombardy. (Source: The Times, Sept. 23, 2000, summary by Pavlidis George).
Committee for the prevention of corruption. Report to the
Italian Parliament: Silvio Berlusconi will stand trial in Milan on corruption
charges (NYTimes, Nov. 27, 1999). Old URL: http://www.lex.unict.it/servizi/
The Index of Economic Freedom (by Driscoll-Holmes-Kirkpatrick) for 2001 places Italy in the “Mostly Free” category with a rank of 32 (Ranks range from 1 for Hong Kong to 155 for North Korea, Wall Street Journal, Nov. 1, 2000). H. D. Vinod’s trimmed correlation analysis indicates that countries free from economic regulation are less corrupt. After allowing for some exceptions by 20% trimming, the correlation is near 0.9. ART The first national anti-Mafia demonstration in Italy was provoked by The 2001 film "I Cento Passi" ("The Hundred Steps"). It shows premature death of Giuseppe Impastato, an anti-Mafia crusader. |
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Design:
Theo den Brinker |
Copyright:
Hrishikesh D. Vinod 2000 |
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