The 86-year-old billionaire has now been cleared in three separate jurisdictions on charges that accused him of bribing witnesses.
At that time, Berlusconi was sentenced to four years in prison but received a pardon for three of them. In that trial, the court determined that although Berlusconi did pay for sex with El Mahroug, he did not know she was only 17 at the time. El Mahroug had been recorded talking about sexual relations with Berlusconi and describing the orgies that took place at the parties, although she later claimed she had made it all up. "I cannot but be enormously satisfied, three out of three!" The ensuing bribery case was split into three separate trials, in Rome, Milan and Siena, because the defendants were located in those areas. Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was acquitted by a Milan court Wednesday of bribing witnesses in previous underage prostitution trial.
Prosecutors had accused the former prime minister of bribing witnesses to lie about his relations with an underage dancer.
Berlusconi](https://www.wsj.com/articles/italys-berlusconi-ordered-to-stand-trial-for-alleged-bribery-1522073623?mod=article_inline), 86, after a trial that lasted six years and concerned events that took place a decade ago. [Kohl's Coupon 30% off sitewide](https://www.wsj.com/coupons/kohls) The court’s decision also absolved three dozen women, including Karima El Mahroug, the woman at the center of the case who at the time of the events was a nightclub dancer nicknamed “Ruby Heart-Stealer.”
An Italian court on Wednesday acquitted Silvio Berlusconi over allegations of paying witnesses to lie in an underage prostitution case that has dogged the ...
Italian former Premier Silvio Berlusconi was found not guilty Wednesday of witness tampering, in a trial related to the sexually charged "bunga bunga" ...
A further 28 people, including the woman at the center of the scandal, Karima el-Mahroug, were also all found not guilty on Wednesday. His lawyer, Federico Cecconi, called the verdict, which formally found no crime had been committed, “the fullest acquittal we could achieve.” In the third trial, Berlusconi faced charges of paying off witnesses to lie in earlier trials.
An Italian court found the former prime minister not guilty of bribing witnesses to lie about his notorious parties.
That ban has long expired and he returned to the Senate in 2022 national elections. It was a nightmare. “It overwhelmed me when I was 17 and it carried on until I was 30.
The Italian media mogul, 86, stood accused of paying young starlets and others for 'silence and lies' about his notoriously hedonistic soirees, ...
Prosecutors had called for six years in jail for Berlusconi and between one and six years for the 27 other defendants in this case, including five years for El-Mahroug. Berlusconi was charged with paying for sex with Ruby in 2010 when she was just 17 Prosecutor Tiziana Siciliano had earlier described Berlusconi as 'a sultan' who used to 'liven up his evenings with a group of concubines, in the sense of sex slaves, who entertained him for a fee'. Berlusconi was charged with paying for sex with Ruby in 2010 when she was just 17. The verdict is the culmination of a legal battle which began in 2010 when Berlusconi - then prime minister - was accused of abusing his power to protect a young Moroccan nightclub dancer, Karima El-Mahroug. Billionaire former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been acquitted of bribing witnesses to lie about his notorious 'bunga bunga' parties, bringing closure to a years-long sex scandal.
The billionaire is acquitted of bribing witnesses to lie about his notorious "bunga-bunga" parties.
And Zelensky aide Mykhailo Podolyak denounced Berlusconi as "a VIP agitator who is acting in the interests of Russian propaganda". Berlusconi said that if President Zelensky had stopped attacking the two Russian-backed regions of Donbas in eastern Ukraine, the war would not have happened. In the Ruby case, the right-wing senator won an appeal against his conviction for paying for sex with an underage prostitute.
Controversial former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was acquitted Wednesday morning of corruption charges in an underage prostitution case due to ...
[previous acquittals](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/berlusconis-many-court-battles-one-sole-conviction-2023-02-15/) in other Bunga Bunga party cases. Berlusconi was not present at Wednesday’s hearing. He was ultimately
Italian former Premier Silvio Berlusconi was found not guilty Wednesday of witness tampering, in a trial related to the sexually charged “bunga bunga” ...
“I am very happy,’’ el-Mahroug told reporters after hearing the acquittal, adding that it showed she had always spoken the truth. A further 28 people, including the woman at the centre of the scandal, Karima el-Mahroug, were also all found not guilty on Wednesday. In the third trial, Berlusconi faced charges of paying off witnesses to lie in earlier trials.
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and 28 others have been acquitted in the 'bunga-bunga' bribe case.
Reacting to his comments, Zelensky aide Mykhailo Podolyak denounced Berlusconi as "a VIP agitator who is acting in the interests of Russian propaganda". He was accused of giving witnesses millions of euros in hush money in the "bunga-bunga" trial. However, he maintained that the money was given as compensation for reputational damage to people linked to the notorious parties. He added that if President Zelensky had stopped attacking the two Russian-backed regions of Donbas in eastern Ukraine, the war would not have happened. The ex-Italian PM has denied any wrongdoing in his various court cases accusing prosecutors of pursuing a political vendetta against him. Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party is a part of the Meloni-led coalition government.