Fastweb founder Silvio Scaglia,
one of Italy's best-known businessmen, on Wednesday saw his
acquittal of involvement in a two-billion-euro VAT dodging and
international money-laundering scam confirmed.
Scaglia, 58, Italy's 13th-richest man, was the former CEO of
the telecoms company who resigned in March 2010 after denying
wrongdoing in the alleged scam, which concerned suspicious
operations during his last years at the helm of the company.
Alleged ringleader Gennaro Mokebl saw his 15-year sentence
reduced to 10.
Scaglia told journalists after the confirmation of his
acquittal that "the charges against me were fabricated from the
beginning".
Some 56 people were arrested in the probe including Mokbel, a
Rome businessman with a far-right militant past, and a former
right-wing Senator, Nicola Di Girolamo, who resigned after being
accused of election fraud involving the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta
mafia.
Di Girolamo plea-bargained a five-year suspended sentence
in 2012.
Scaglia was among seven people, mostly former executives,
to be acquitted while Mokbel was among 18 convicted and
originally got the longest term, 15 years, in 2013.
Fastweb had removed two executives linked to the 2003-2006
suspected scam which allegedly involved a 'merry-go-round' of
VAT transactions on phone services involving offshore shell
companies.
It said it severed ties to other suspects in 2007, when
Scaglia sold his majority stake to Swisscom.
Another telecoms company, Telecom Italia's Sparkle Web TV
unit, also took steps to avoid being placed under an
administrator.
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