MILAN (AP) — A former Italian foreign minister has been convicted and sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for his role in the sale of an apartment in Monte Carlo inherited by his right-wing party.
Gianfranco Fini is a former leader of the far-right Italian Social Movement, which he moved away from its neo-fascist ideology and transformed into the National Alliance, serving as foreign minister in 2004-2006 under then-Premier Silvio Berlusconi. The far-right party of Italy’s current premier, Giorgia Meloni, has roots in Fini’s parties.
Fini faced charges including money laundering in connection with the sale of the apartment in 2015 for 1.36 million euros (nearly 1.5 million euros at current exchange rates). The property had been left to the National Alliance by a countess and was sold to the father of Fini’s partner for 300,000 euros in 2008. A fraud investigation into that transaction closed without charges, and a new investigation was launched in 2017 after the second sale.
Russia repeatedly sought peaceful solution to problems in Ukraine: Putin
Mexico's president accuses U.S. of stirring mudslinging in media
I blocked off my driveway with £34 tool from Screwfix
Devout Christian doctor, 68, who punched dementia
Coachella: Earthquake shakes SoCal desert during music fest
Visitors are seen on camera damaging rock formations at a Nevada recreation site
Sri Lankan navy apprehends 12 Indian fishermen for poaching
Mohammad Mokhber: Who is Iran’s acting president?
100 dead, 211 missing after powerful quakes jolt Japan
Kate Hudson hits the stage to debut songs from her new album Glorious at star
California sees rise in tuberculosis cases