Legal proceedings

We do not believe that there are any pending legal proceedings that would have a material adverse effect on the financial position or operations of the group.
There have been criminal proceedings in Italy against 21 defendants, including a former BT employee, in connection with the Italian UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) auction in 2000. Blu, in which we held a minority interest, participated in that auction process. On 20 July 2005, the former BT employee was found not culpable of the fraud charge brought by the Rome Public Prosecutor. All the other defendants were also acquitted. The Public Prosecutor has appealed the court’s decision. If the appeal is successful, we could be held liable, with others, for any damages. The company has concluded that it would not be appropriate to make a provision in respect of any such claim.

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