Italian ex-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's trial for alleged witness-tampering in a case related to his notorious "bunga bunga" parties was postponed Monday to May 7.
The 81-year-old media baron is to be tried in Milan over purportedly paying millions of euros to several witnesses who attended the parties at his mansion near the northern business hub.
Berlusconi faced trials for the same alleged offence in other Italian jurisdictions, and the Milan court agreed to group the cases together.
He is accused of bribing witnesses to lie at an earlier trial for paying for sex with a minor in the so-called Rubygate scandal.
Silvio Berlusconi, Forza Italia Source: PA/FLAVIO LO SCALZO
Karima El-Mahroug -- known as Ruby the Heart Stealer -- was 17 at the time, in 2010.
After being convicted and sentenced to seven years in jail in 2013, Berlusconi was cleared of all charges in that case in 2015.
Prosecutors say the tycoon, who was prime minister three times between 1994 and 2011, shelled out some 10 million euros ($12.3 million), including seven million for Ruby, between 2011 and 2015.
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Italy's Berlusconi to face sex trial
The payments took the form of cash, gifts, cars and accommodation as well as help with bills and medical expenses, prosecutors say.
The Milan tribunal called for at least one hearing per week starting May 7, and for the trial to end by late July.
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