An Italian glamour model has been accused by Silvio Berlusconi, the former prime minister, of trying to extort €1 million (£860,000) from him in exchange for remaining silent over the “bunga bunga” parties which led to his political downfall.
The ex-prime minister, who remains prominent in Italian politics despite a string of sex and corruption scandals, reported Giovanna Rigato to prosecutors.
Miss Rigato, 35, who describes herself on her website as a “journalist and showgirl”, attended some of the soirées hosted by Mr Berlusconi at his mansion in Arcore, outside Milan, in 2010.
She was recorded discussing the parties, and how much girls were paid to attend, during telephone conversations that were intercepted by investigators.
It is the first time that the billionaire politician has taken legal action against any of the models, actresses and showgirls whom he invited to his so-called “bunga bunga” parties.
The showgirl, who has posed topless for calendars and men’s magazines, allegedly threatened the ex-prime minister in July, telling him through his lawyers that she would divulge “damaging” information to the press and the judiciary unless he gave her €500,000.
She later allegedly upped the sum to €1 million, asking that it be deposited in a foreign bank account, according to Corriere della Sera, an Italian daily.
The alleged blackmail is being investigated by prosecutors in Milan, who questioned her earlier this week.
Miss Rigato, who appeared in the Italian version of Big Brother, was reportedly bitter that she had not received cash payments from Mr Berlusconi, unlike many of the other women caught up in the bunga bunga scandal.
Around 20 of the showgirls received generous gifts, free rent and cash payments from Mr Berlusconi, who was described by one Italian newspaper this week as “a human cash point”.
Nicknamed “Il Cavaliere” or The Knight, he said the money was compensation for the damage the women had suffered to their reputations, but investigators believe his generosity was an attempt to buy their silence during a trial in which he was accused of paying for sex with an underage call girl, 17-year-old Karima El Mahroug.
The exotic dancer, who was born in Morocco but moved to Italy as a child with her family, was better known by the stage name “Ruby the Heart Stealer”.
Last month an Italian judge ordered that Miss El Mahroug and 22 other young women, including Miss Rigato, face trial on charges of lying under oath and giving false evidence in court about the parties hosted by Mr Berlusconi.
Mr Berlusconi was acquitted in 2014 of having sex with the teenager and of abusing his power as prime minister to cover it up, with a judge ruling that he did not know that the dancer was under-age at the time.
Prosecutors have since alleged that he paid around €10m to the women in exchange for them telling the trial that the bunga bunga parties were in fact innocent events at which Mr Berlusconi sang songs and hosted lavish dinners.
Miss El Mahroug, who told the court that she never slept with the media magnate, allegedly received €7 million of the total.
Judges will decide on December 15 whether 80-year-old Mr Berlusconi should also be sent to trial. He has missed several pre-trial hearings because of ill health, having undergone heart surgery in June.
