Silvio Berlusconi Banned From Parliament For Two Years Over Tax Fraud!

Silvio Berlusconi has been hit with a political ban over his tax fraud conviction (Picture: AP)

Embattled politician Silvio Berlusconi has been given a two-year political ban following his conviction for tax fraud.

The former Italian PM has been banned from holding public office and elections following the ruling by an appeals court in Milan.

Berlusconi, 77, is already facing the loss of his Senate seat due to the conviction, leaving the possibility of him losing his parliamentary immunity from prosecution in a number of criminal cases.

‘It doesn’t change the big picture at all,’ explained James Walston, a professor of international relations at American University of Rome.

‘It is a reminder to him and to the world that he is a convicted criminal, which he doesn’t like being reminded of.

‘He will have to serve a sentence and now he has to deal with two obstacles that will seek to throw him out of office.’

Berlusconi will also spend a year doing community service according to a request he submitted last week.

The court’s decision will have no immediate effect and his expulsion from the Senate will depend on a separate vote in the upper house of parliament, expected to take place next month. Metro.co.uk reports.