Overview
- The Court of Cassation upheld lower-court rulings and made final the rejection of preventive surveillance and asset confiscation sought against Marcello Dell'Utri and his relatives.
- The decision confirms appellate findings that the theory Berlusconi paid Dell'Utri for his silence on alleged mafia pacts is unproven and illogical.
- The ruling concerns the preventive-measures proceeding and does not affect Dell'Utri’s past conviction for external complicity in a mafia association.
- Forza Italia figures, including Antonio Tajani and Paolo Barelli, hailed the outcome as a vindication of Berlusconi’s legacy.
- Separate prosecutorial inquiries remain active in Florence and Caltanissetta regarding 1990s mafia bombings and related hypotheses.