Silvio Berlusconi paid €127,000 to witnesses in trial
Source: The Guardian
Italy's former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has handed out cash gifts worth more than €100,000 to young women due to testify in his trial on charges of paying an underage prostitute.
Berlusconi reportedly paid €127,000 (£105,000) to three witnesses since his trail began last April over paying an underage prostitute, before putting pressure on Milan police to hush up the case.
The trial centres on Moroccan runaway Karima el-Mahroug, known as Ruby the Heart Stealer, who attended so-called "bunga bunga" parties at Berlusconi's mansion outside Milan in 2010.
Prosecutors allege the parties were organised by Nicole Minetti, a former dental hygienist turned TV showgirl who was nominated a councillor for the Lombardy region by Berlusconi's party.
Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/12/silvio-berlusconi-paid-witnesses-ruby-trial
