Marco Tronchetti Provera, the chairman of Pirelli, was given a 20-month suspended jail sentence for receiving stolen information when he was head of Telecom Italia, according to a report from Reuters.
In addition, Provera also was ordered by a Milan court to pay 900,000 euros ($1.2 million) to Telecom Italia, a company he led from 2001-06.
Provera was found guilty of receiving phone data in 2004 stolen from a security agency in Brazil, Reuters reported. The agency was allegedly spying on Telecom Italia on behalf of Brasil Telecom and a Brazilian investment company in a dispute for control of Brasil Telecom.
In a statement Provera said he never knew that the data had been obtained illegally and if he had, he would have sent it on to the Brazilian police.
"I respect the verdict, however I cannot help but to point out that I have been convicted for denouncing those who were spying on us," Provera said.
The case is part of a wider spying scandal in which former Telecom Italia employees have been convicted for snooping on Italian public figures using stolen phone data.
A lawyer for Provera, who denies any wrongdoing, said there was "no logic" in the verdict. Provera plans to appeal the verdict.
