The Bank of Italy accelerates to close the Fininvest-Mediolanum case. According to reports from the Radiocor agency, the institute in via Nazionale has forced Fininvest to transfer the 20% held in Mediolanum to the trust. The operation must be carried out starting yesterday and within the next 30 days. The trust was created in January after a provision by Bank of Italy had established the order for Silvio Berlusconi, the first shareholder of Fininvest, to sell the stake in Mediolanum exceeding 9,9%, ie about 20 percent.
With yesterday's provision, the Bank of Italy intends, among other things, to protect the principle of sound and prudent management of the shareholding, given that Berlusconi cannot exercise the voting rights, which the trust could instead use. The first decision by Palazzo Koch imposing the sale dates back to 7 October last year, after the registration of Mediolanum among the banking groups and the loss of the honourability requirements by the former Prime Minister due to the conviction for fraud tax. The Bank of Italy had then granted 30 months (starting from last January) to sell the shares.
Berlusconi's lawyers (Andrea Di Porto, Andrea Saccucci and Luigi Medugno) appealed to the Regional Administrative Court and then to the Council of State against the provision which imposed the transfer. In the last hearing on 27 August, Palazzo Spada referred directly to the merits without dealing with the request for suspension, assuming that there were no elements such as to impose urgency. The hearing on the merits has been set for January 14th.
Now, after this provision that changes the cards on the table, Berlusconi's lawyers could, in addition to challenging the latest decision of the Bank of Italy, ask that the administrative judge decide on the suspension of the decision of 7 October without waiting for the hearing merit. When asked about the latest developments, Fininvest has not commented at the moment.
