Court jails Berlusconi for four years for tax evasion

Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been handed a four-year sentence after being convicted of tax evasion by a Milan court.

An Italian court is set to deliver verdicts against 10 others in the six-year-old tax fraud trial.

Prosecutors had demanded a sentence of three years and eight months for Berlusconi and four years for the chairman of his Mediaset conglomerate Fedele Confalonieri.

Prosecutors alleged the defendants purchased television rights for US movies through a series of offshore companies, then falsely declared the payments to avoid taxes.

The trial began in July 2006, but was put on hold for a period due to a now-defunct immunity law.

Berlusconi has been tried numerous times for his business dealings. He had always been cleared or seen the statute of limitations expire.

The verdict comes days after Berlusconi announced he will not run for premier in upcoming elections.