The Berlusconi family council blocked monthly payments to 20 women who attended evenings at Villa San Martino in Arcore, near Milan. The Italian press calls them “bunga bunga”. Moreover, women are being evicted from apartments and houses that the former prime minister paid for them during his lifetime, media in Italy report.
The media indicate that the daughter of the former prime minister, Marina Berlusconi, makes the most important decisions in the Berlusconi family council. They also explain that a monthly check of 2,500 euros from Silvio Berlusconiformer prime minister Italianleader of Forza Italia, was “compensation for the image damage caused to young women in the so-called Ruby trials.”
“Rubygate” and Silvio Berlusconi
The so-called Rubygate was a political and judicial sex scandal involving Silvio Berlusconi from 2010 to 2021. An investigation into the case revealed a series of sexual encounters he had with a Moroccan woman, Karima El Mahroug, known as Ruby Rubacuori, when she was still a minor. The trial had many stages, but ultimately ended with the acquittal of the former prime minister.
When Karima El Mahroug was arrested for theft in 2010, Berlusconi called the police station and asked for her release. The politician claimed that she was the “niece of Mubarak”, the then president Egypt. Then a scandal broke out, which led to several trials.
The girls, referred to in the media as “Olgettine” (this term became a neologism, even included in the Treccani language encyclopedia, comes from the name of the street where Villa San Martino is located), who participated in long dinners at Berlusconi’s house, received a total of 11 million euros. The money was paid, among others: Barbara Guerra, twins Imma and Eleonora De Vivo, Francesca Cipriani, Alessandra Sorcinelli. Thanks to these funds, women could not only lead a comfortable life, but also cover the costs of legal services.
“Girls who dreamed of the world of entertainment are left alone and risk finding themselves in the center of court news again,” write the Italian media. The prosecutor’s office in Milan filed an appeal in the so-called Ruby ter trial to the Supreme Court. It will be heard on March 5, 2024. The girls are charged with perjury. The prosecutor claims that the money received over the years was intended to buy their silence or lies about what happened in Arcore.
The women will also lose the apartments and villas where Silvio Berlusconi placed them. Barbara Guerra is to leave the villa in Bernareggio near Monza, built by the outstanding architect Mario Botta, by December 31 this year. Guerra didn’t even have to pay for utilities. Berlusconi also bought a villa in Bernareggio for Alessandra Sorcinelli. She also has to move out. The Berlusconi family decided to terminate the contracts for lending apartments to all women maintained by the former prime minister by the end of the year.
Karima El Mahroug, known as Ruby, published a biographical book “Karima” this year, in which she idealizes the former prime minister. The book begins with the sentence “I am not a prostitute.”
– Berlusconi treated me with full respect. I never denied that I received financial assistance during the six visits to his home. But we’re not talking about five million euros. However, for me it was quite a lot of money. Because they allowed me to not sleep on the streets, buy food and send something to my mother. That’s why I’m talking about gratitude towards him, she said during the book presentation. Karima currently lives with her partner and daughter in Liguria.
Main photo source: Abaca Press / Forum