An Italian court is expected to issue a verdict Saturday, Feb 25, in a case where the former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi stands accused of bribing a British lawyer, but the ruling is unlikely to have any legal force because of the statute of limitations, The Associated Press reports.

Berlusconi's lawyers are delivering their final arguments before the court begins deliberations over a case where the former premier is accused of having paid a British lawyer $600,000 to lie in two 1990s trials to shield Berlusconi and his Finevest holding company from charges related to the billionaire media mogul's business dealings.

Prosecutors have demanded a five-year sentence but the impact of any ruling on Berlusconi will likely be only political as the expiration of the statute of limitations will sap it of any legal force. The former premier, who stepped down in November after failing to persuade markets Italy could exit the financial crisis, did not attend the closing arguments.

Berlusconi, 75, issued a statement Friday railing against magistrates for the "many trials" against him, and saying that he doesn't ever recall having met the British lawyer David Mills. "Mills was one of many lawyers abroad that occasionally worked for the Fininvest group. I don't recall ever having met him," Berlusconi said.

He added that Mills had received the $600,000 from an Italian arms dealer for some legal work and made up the story that the money had been a gift from Fininvest employee, who had since died, to avoid paying a 50 percent tax on earnings.

By prosecutors' calculations, the statute of limitations on the case expires by July but even that time frame would not allow for two levels of appeal required to finalize any verdict. The defense claims the statute of limitations has already expired.

The court will have to make its own calculations, and decide if it can still issue a finding in the initial trial.