Silvio Berlusconi paid 60,000 (Rs 40 lakh) in legal fees on behalf of Nicole Minetti (in pic), the Anglo-Italian former television starlet accused of procuring prostitutes for his bunga bunga parties.
The money was part of a ¤100,000 (Rs 67 lakh) lump sum paid from Berlusconi’s personal bank account to that of Minetti in June last year, bank records show.
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Minetti is accused of acting as a madam for the then prime minister, along with two of his close associates. She denies the charges. She is expected to be a key witness in his trial, which resumes on Monday.
The Anglo-Italian model reportedly received a total of ¤402,000 (Rs 2.70 crore) from him between 2009 and 2011, bank records obtained by prosecutors revealed.
She said Berlusconi gave her the money in a spirit of friendship and claimed that the payments were entirely transparent and above board.
Prosecutors in Milan accuse him of paying for sex with Karima El Mahroug, a 17-year-old nightclub dancer whom they claim was working as an under age prostitute, and of abuse of office.
On Thursday, it emerged that Berlusconi had paid more than ¤72,000, (Rs 81 lakh) to Imma and Eleonora De Vivo, twin show girls who are alleged to have cavorted in their underwear at one of his bunga bunga parties.
The twins, who rose to fame in Italy after appearing on a reality television show, are also due to be called as witnesses in the prostitution trial.u00a0Lawyers also want to call as a witness the father of the De Vivo twins, through whose bank account the payments from Berlusconi were allegedly made.
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