ROME – Forza Italia leader, Silvio Berlusconi, faces fresh corruption charges in Rome having allegedly bribed witnesses in the infamous so-called ‘Ruby-Ter’ scandal, judicial sources said on Wednesday.

 Italy’s former Prime Minister hit headlines, once again for all the wrong reasons, after he was formally accused of bribing witnesses, most of whom were young women, to lie under oath when testifying to events at Berlusconi’s notorious ‘bunga bunga’ sex parties.

 He is also being sought in Turin on separate charges relating to the same case.

 The billionaire media tycoon in set to appear in court on 23 Nov alongside Mariano Apicella, who has been indicted for crimes of corruption and false testimony.

 Berlusconi reportedly paid 157,000 euros over several years toApicella, a singer from Naples who took part in the 83-year-old’s reprehensible revelries, involving the allegedly underage prostitute, Karima El-Mahroug.

 The latest accusations against Berlusconi come in the wake of his clearance by a Milan court of charges relating back to his guilty verdict for tax fraud in 2013.

 Berlusconi’s 2013 conviction had led to his expulsion from the Italian Senate and an automatic six-year ban from holding public office, although this sanction was lifted a year early, bringing a premature end to the initial ruling on account of “good conduct.”

 Italian prosecutors, however, have decided against challenging the verdict reached by the Milan court, which granted Berlusconi a political resurrection, allowing him to run as a candidate for the upper house of parliament.

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