Ex-call girl D'Addario 'received £1m in Berlusconi-smearing plot'

London, Feb 7 (ANI): Patrizia D'Addario, a former prostitute who claimed she spent a night with Silvio Berlusconi, may have received nearly 1 million pounds in a plot to discredit him, says a magazine.

Weekly magazine Panorama, owned by the Italian prime minister, has reported that prosecutors in Bari, southern Italy, were investigating D'Addario, 42, on suspicion of conspiracy.

Meanwhile, D'Addario has brushed off reports of a plot as "fanciful" and claimed she had been targeted for revealing she had sex with Berlusconi, 73, on the night of Barack Obama's election victory in November 2008. Berlusconi has denied paying for sex, reports The Times.

The magazine had reported that D'Addario and a number of close acquaintances held several bank accounts in Italy and abroad and that she had transferred 1.5m Euros from Italy to an account in Qatar in February 2008 - eight months before she claims to have spent the night with Berlusconi.

According to the magazine, during the past few months nearly 1m pounds have been paid into an Italian bank account linked to D'Addario and that prosecutors "suspect all this money could have been a reward for the role she played as the prime minister's sworn enemy". (ANI)