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The Tessa Jowell financial allegations are a series of allegations surrounding Tessa Jowell, the then United Kingdom Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. They arose when her husband David Mills came under investigation by Italian authorities who suspected him of corruptly receiving £340,000 from Silvio Berlusconi. Some newspapers have termed the accusations the 'Jowellgate' scandal. The case has been cited as a further example of 'sleaze' which is commonly used to refer to inherent corruption when large sums of money come together with the world of politics and politicians. =="Jowellgate"== Tessa Jowell married international corporate lawyer David Mills in 1979. In the early 1990s, Mills acted for Silvio Berlusconi, then a high-profile businessman and former Prime Minister of Italy. During his work for Berlusconi, Mills received $600,000 (£340,000);〔("Focus: The minister and the £350,000 gift" ), Times, 26 February 2006〕 the precise source of the money and the reason for its payment is under dispute, with Mills claiming that the money was part of a larger amount paid indirectly to him by another Italian client, Diego Attanasio, although Attanasio has denied this claim when found in London on 2 March (between custodial sentences for bribery and corruption).〔("Alleged source of cash found in London" ), Guardian, 2 March 2006〕 The Italian state prosecutors believed that instead Mills was being paid for giving false or misleading evidence in court for Berlusconi in the early 1990s (an accusation denied by Mills). Mills wrote a letter to his accountants in February 2004 which appears to be describing a payment; he claims he was inventing a scenario to get tax advice, using the euphemism "Mr B". Mills was investigated in Italy for money laundering and alleged tax fraud and on 10 March 2006 Italian prosecuting magistrates decided that they had sufficient evidence to ask a judge to indict Berlusconi and Mills. On 17 February 2009, Mills was found guilty of accepting a bribe and sentenced to prison. It was not fully clarified who actually gave him the money until May when the court gave the reasoning behind its decision and implicated Berlusconi. However, by 2009 Berlusconi enjoyed immunity because of new legislation. His defence counsel said that the sentence went "against the logic and dynamic of the evidence presented." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tessa Jowell financial allegations」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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