An Italian court delivered the verdict against the former leader and 10 others in a 6-year-old trial.

It comes 2 days after 76-year-old Berlusconi announced he will not be running for Premier in upcoming elections.

He attainted worldwide notoriety for his reported “bunga bunga” parties consisting of women and sex.

Scandals

Berlusconi himself has taken a largely backseat role in politics since he was forced to step down but he remains the dominant figure within the PDL.

The 3-time premier stepped down last November after mounting market pressure against Italy to deal with its high debt load and a failure by the Berlusconi government to come up with persuasive financial reforms.

However his standing with the general public has fallen sharply after an array of sexual and political scandals and an opinion poll last month gave him just 18% support.

Prosecutors have asked for a sentence of 3 years and 8 months for Berlusconi and 3 years and 4 months for the chairman of his Mediaset conglomerate Fedele Confalonieri.

However it is believed he will appeal the sentence and he will not be incarcerated straight away.