People doing business in Italy will be watching the case - as the judiciary is being accused by Berlusconi and his supporters of being biased. Judge Antonio Esposito, president of the court which recently sentenced Silvio Berlusconi, who is also a media billionaire, to four years prison or house arrest, gave an interview last week to Il Mattino newspaper. He suggested in the interview that Berlusconi, as head of his company Mediaset, should have known that there were irregularities regarding the payment of the organisation's tax. However, he did not say that there was evidence proving that Berlusconi did know. After the interview was published, the Judge said that his words had been manipulated to give an incorrect interpretation. However, the newspaper strongly denied this allegation and then published the full interview.

Investigation ordered

 The Justice Minister, Annamaria Cancellieri, has now ordered an investigation into the interview. The move is not a disciplinary investigation but it could lead to one. Former magistrate Luigi Del Magistris, now mayor of Naples, told Il Mattino: 'Judge Esposito made a mistake in giving the interview. The debate seems surreal to me because in order to condemn someone it seems evident to me that the person found guilty must have known the facts.'