(ANSA) - Rome, December 28 - A probe by Italy's antitrust authority into claims that government incentives to buy digital TV decoders constitute a conflict of interests for Premier Silvio Berlusconi will take till mid February, sources said on Wednesday.
The sources said officials believe their work will be completed by February 15, well ahead of the April general elections.
Last week, Berlusconi dismissed as "laughable" claims that he faces a conflict of interest because of government incentives for TV set-top decoders. The antitrust authority announced on December 22 it was opening a probe after opposition MPs pointed out that the premier's brother Paolo controls a company which distributes the terrestrial decoders.
Legislation drafted and approved last year by Berlusconi's ruling centre-right alliance says a conflict of interest exists if action by the government benefits someone in the family of one of its members. "This is something so laughable I didn't know anything about it," Berlusconi said at an end-of-year press conference.
He added that his brother had telephoned him to say he intended to sell the decoder business immediately.
He also said that the company, Solari, had only 2% of the decoder market and that only 3% of its turnover came from this area of business. "I was amazed to see that someone could think the budget went in a certain direction just because of something so laughable," Berlusconi said.
The 2006 budget, which was approved last week, sets aside 10 million euros to subsidise purchases of digital decoders in two Italian regions. Over the last two years a further 110 million have been provided for this purpose. "I am grateful to the authority for having opened an enquiry because I am absolutely convinced that it will show the accusation's lack of foundation," the premier said.
"It just demonstrates the bad faith of those who made this accusation," he added. The new probe came on the heels of another opened by the European Union on December 21.
