MADRID, 15 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -
The former Italian Prime Minister and leader of Forza Italia, Silvio Berlusconi, has been acquitted this Wednesday of corruption charges surrounding the so-called 'Ruby' case, a scandal unleashed as a result of a series of private parties in which allegedly offered sexual relations with underage prostitutes.
A court in the city of Milan has decided to exonerate him after a closed-door court hearing that lasted two hours. The judges' ruling comes six years after the investigation began against Berlusconi for having allegedly paid some 10 million euros to witnesses during an investigation into his relationship with the dancer Karima el Mahroug, known as 'Ruby', when she was still younger.
The former president has repeatedly reiterated his innocence and has defended that it was "generous" to reward those who had seen their lives "ruined" by the judicial investigation in question, according to information from the Adnkronos agency.
Both Berlusconi and 28 other people were also accused of giving false testimony in the two trials carried out in the 'Ruby' case. Witnesses obtained money and other benefits, the prosecution claimed.