Silvio Berlusconi: Four years for tax evasion

Berlusconi is expected to appeal against the sentence, the first he has been given after a number of previous trials and inquiries found in his favour.

He has also been barred from holding public office for three years.

The 76-year-old media tycoon was not in the courtroom for the verdict on the case which stems from dealings in his Mediaset business empire.

The prosecution had claimed Berlusconi - and 10 other defendants - had bought television rights for US films through a series of offshore companies, before falsely declaring the payments in order to avoid taxes.

Berlusconi, 76, was Italy's longest-serving post-war Prime Minister, but he resigned last November over his country's debt crisis.

He remained AC Milan's President and owner, as well as Italy's richest man. It is not clear yet what the consequences of Berlusconi's imprisonment will be for the Rossoneri.