Berlusconi admits paying girls to attend sex parties

London, April 13 (IANS) Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has admitted he paid 70,000 pounds (over $110,000) to twin girls to attend his "Bunga Bunga" sex parties, a media report said.

Another 45,000 pounds were paid to the half-British television showgirl alleged to have acted as Berlusconi's "madam", the Daily Mail reported.

Berlusconi has denied any wrongdoing. He also faces charges over paying for sex with an underage prostitute.

Twin sisters Eleonora and Imma De Vivo appeared on a TV show "Isola dei Famosi" in 2008. The show is the Italian version of hit show "Celebrity Survivor".

After they were introduced to Berlusconi, they were allegedly among the frequent guests to his "Bunga Bunga" parties.

The former prime minister reportedly made the payments to the girls through their father's bank account, the daily said. Prosecutors have traced two transfers for 35,000 pounds and 25,000 pounds that were made to their father.

The daily said the twins along with 32 other girls lived in accommodation provided for by Berlusconi. They also face accusations of "prostituting" at his parties.

Imma, known as Berlusconi's "good luck charm", said: "When I go to these dinners, and they are very seldom, the only man is him (Berlusconi). He is the only, sole protagonist. There is no other man apart from him."

In a conversation intercepted by prosecutors, Imma complained to her sister over Berlusconi's physical appearance.

"I found him a bit fatter and more ugly. Last year he was in better shape. He's got uglier. He has only to cough up. I hope he'll be more generous. I'm not giving him s**t," she said.

The former prime minister also reportedly made payments to Nicole Minetti, a model of British descent, who was elected to the Italian government shortly after meeting Berlusconi.

She faces charges of providing him with a number of prostitutes.

Berlusconi's lawyer said: "We would like to point out that these are sums that were clearly paid by bank transfers that are fully tracked from a personal account of prime minister Berlusconi. It's quite normal and does not raise any problem for there to be economic relations between people under investigation or facing charges and witnesses."

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