An Italian appeals court in Milan has ordered the Fininvest holding company of Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, to pay a fine of US$800 million to a rival conglomerate.
The fine is compensation for a fraudulent takeover deal in which Fininvest took control of publishing company Mondadori from CIR in 1991.
The takeover was sanctioned by a judge who was later sentenced for corruption.
Mr Berlusconi had earlier tried to pass a law that would have frozen the penalty.
