Italy's former industry minister
Claudio Scajola may face trial again for charges related to a
shady real-estate deal involving an expensive home with a view
on Rome's iconic Colosseum.
In January a judge acquitted him and his co-defendant,
businessman Diego Anemone, because Scajola "did not know" how
the flat had been paid for.
On Thursday prosecutors submitted an appeal to that ruling,
arguing it was made with an "utter disregard of the evidence".
Prosecutors had originally asked that they both be given
three-year jail sentences and fined two million euros each on
charges of illicit funding.
Scajola defended himself by saying that others paid for his
home in 2004 "without his knowledge".
A member of ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's People of
Freedom (PdL) party at the time, Scajola was forced to resign in
2010.
The case against Anemone was timed out by the statute of
limitations.
The property was allegedly bought by Anemone, who is said
to have paid 1.1 million euros of a total of 1.7 million euros
through architect Angelo Zampolini for the purchase, as well as
paying 100,000 euros for renovations.
The case was part of a broader investigation into alleged
illegal activities by Anemone that emerged following the 2009
Group of Eight (G8) summit in Italy.
The meeting of G8 international leaders was initially
scheduled to be held in La Maddalena in Sardinia before being
moved to the earthquake-stricken town of L'Aquila.
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