Italy's President Sergio Mattarella has requested urgent clarification from the justice ministry following reports that a woman close to late ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi may have obtained an official pardon on false pretences.
Nicole Minetti, who was convicted of facilitating prostitution in connection with the notorious "bunga bunga" parties at Berlusconi's villa over 15 years ago, as well as embezzlement, was quietly granted presidential clemency in February.
But the case has now exploded into the headlines after an investigation by Il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper raised doubts over the pardon, which was granted on "extraordinary" humanitarian grounds following advice from the justice ministry.
Milan prosecutors said on Tuesday that Interpol had been approached as part of an investigation into allegations of false declarations surrounding the pardon.
The developing scandal comes at an awkward moment for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose government is struggling to recover ground after losing an important recent referendum on judicial reform.
