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| Berlusconi cleared of corruption | Berlusconi cleared of corruption |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Italy's highest court has acquitted former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi definitively of corruption charges dating back to the 1980s. | Italy's highest court has acquitted former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi definitively of corruption charges dating back to the 1980s. |
| The charges concerned a privatisation deal in which Mr Berlusconi was accused of bribing judges to block the sale of food group SME to a rival. | The charges concerned a privatisation deal in which Mr Berlusconi was accused of bribing judges to block the sale of food group SME to a rival. |
| In April an appeals court acquitted the media mogul on all charges, and Friday's ruling upholds that. | In April an appeals court acquitted the media mogul on all charges, and Friday's ruling upholds that. |
| Mr Berlusconi has fought off repeated corruption allegations. | Mr Berlusconi has fought off repeated corruption allegations. |
| The SME case dates back to before Mr Berlusconi's entry into Italian politics. | |
| Judges blocked the sale of the SME food conglomerate to one of Mr Berlusconi's rivals, ruling in favour of a group of which he was a part. | Judges blocked the sale of the SME food conglomerate to one of Mr Berlusconi's rivals, ruling in favour of a group of which he was a part. |
| It was claimed that Mr Berlusconi had influenced the judges' decision by bribing them. | It was claimed that Mr Berlusconi had influenced the judges' decision by bribing them. |
| But in 2004 a Milan court cleared Mr Berlusconi on one count of corruption and said the statute of limitations had run out on a second. | But in 2004 a Milan court cleared Mr Berlusconi on one count of corruption and said the statute of limitations had run out on a second. |
| He was acquitted of both counts in the appeals court in April - a decision backed up by the Supreme Court in Rome on Friday. |