Ukraine has opened a criminal case against former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi after he visited the annexed Crimean peninsula without permission from Kiev, Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reports.
Berlusconi has already been banned by the Ukrainian Security Services (SBU) from visiting Ukraine for a period of three years in response to his visit, but Georgy Logvinskiy, the deputy head of Ukraine's parliamentary committee on international relations, has now said that the Ukrainian authorities are also opening legal proceedings against him.
Crimea was annexed by Russia in an internationally unrecognized referendum in March 2014 while Ukraine was in the midst of nationwide protests against the then pro-Russian government. Shortly after the referendum, Kiev imposed emergency regulation that legally requires people to request permission from the Ukrainian government before they travel to Crimea.
Berlusconi is a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who joined him on his visit to Crimea. According to Logvinskiy, Berlusconi's trip was part of larger push by Russia to emphasize the legitimacy of the Crimean annexation by hosting public figures on the peninsula. While in Crimea, Berlusconi allegedly shared a glass of 240-year-old wine with the Russian leader and endorsed the annexation of the peninsula.
"In Russia an initiative has been set up for which, by our estimates, over $50 million have been set aside to gain maximum recognition of the Crimean annexation as a legal exchange of government power, assets and of our territory," Logvinskiy said. "They are organizing so-called excursion tours on our territory."
Logvinskiy showed UNIAN a letter sent to him by Crimea's government-in-exile, confirming that Berlusconi is being investigated. According to Ukraine's Criminal Code, anyone found guilty of illegally entering Crimea, "with the aim of harming the interests of the [Ukrainian] state" faces up to three years in prison.
In August, French member of parliament Thierry Mariani led a delegation of 11 French lawmakers to meet with Russian colleagues in Crimea. Mariani has now been formally banned from entering Ukraine for three years according to a statement from the SBU.
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