Silvio Burlusconi, together with some business associates, is charged with fraud and false accounting over the purchase of one of the luxury properties near Milan which is one of his main residences. He's unlikely to appear in court on the first day of the trial.

Mr Berlusconi, who is now leader of the opposition, has claimed that he is a victim of persecution by the Milan judiciary. The former Italian Prime Minister and media mogul is already facing separate trials on two other counts, bribing tax officials who were auditing the books of one of his media companies and making illegal contributions to the party funds of the Socialists through Swiss bank accounts.

Last month, Mr Berlusconi was found guilty of accounting-fraud in yet another criminal case against him. He was sentenced to 16 months in jail, but he's unlikely to have to serve the sentence under current Italian criminal procedure.

Mr Berlusconi's former lawyer, Cesare Previti, who was defence minister in his right-wing coalition government in 1994, is also slated for trial later this year, on corruption charges. He's accused of bribing judges in Rome to give favourable verdicts in cases concerning Mr Berlusconi's commercial business interests.