Berlusconi's paid sex-ploits under scanner

London, Jan 18: Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi is in the news for all the wrong reasons. Known for his casanova ways rather than his exemplary governance, Berlusconi's apparent hunts have made him the most controversial leader Italy has ever seen. Latest news reveal that he paid a 'significant' number of women to have sex with him at parties he hosted last year.

Prosecutors claim to have "ample investigative evidence" that Berlusconi provided flats for the women in return for sex at a Milan housing complex he built in the 1970s before entering politics, reports the Guradian.

Berlusconi is already under investigation on suspicion of paying for sex with one of his guests, Karima el-Mahroug, a Moroccan belly dancer known as Ruby Rubacuori, when she was 17 - an offence under Italian law.

He is also suspected of pressuring police into freeing her from custody after she was arrested on suspicion of theft last May.

Prosecutors outlined their case in a document sent to parliament to seek permission to raid the Milan offices of a Berlusconi accountant they suspect of handling payments to the women. According to Italian laws, the offenses against Berlusconi may get up to 15 years in jail.

ANI