The prosecutor general’s office in Milan has stood by its original recommendation following an investigation triggered by press allegations that the Nicole Minetti pardon plea rested on false declarations. They included claims she was continuing to host sex parties at her partner’s Uruguayan ranch.
Milan’s Chief Prosecutor General Francesca Nanni confirmed on Wednesday that her office was maintaining its positive opinion on the presidential pardon granted to Nicole Minetti. This followed a supplementary investigation involving Interpol found no basis for the allegations that had thrown the clemency decision into doubt.
Nanni sent a report to both Justice Minister Carlo Nordio and President Sergio Mattarella setting out the investigative activity carried out following the journalistic revelations published by Il Fatto Quotidiano regarding Minetti’s life in Uruguay and the conduct of her partner, businessman Giuseppe Cipriani. The findings were unambiguous: the facts reported in the press articles do not correspond to the truth. Furthermore, no elements have emerged that conflict with the evidence already gathered.
A pardon under scrutiny
Minetti was sentenced to two years and ten months in jail in 2019 for procuring sex workers for Berlusconi’s bunga bunga parties. She subsequently received an additional 13-month sentence for misuse of public funds in connection with the Lombardy regional government reimbursement scandal. As the cumulative term fell under four years, she avoided prison but was due to carry out community service.
With the favourable opinion of the Milan Attorney General on 9 January 2026 and of Justice Minister Carlo Nordio shortly thereafter — who cited the need to address family needs — the pardon was granted on 18 February 2026. The humanitarian basis for the plea was Minetti’s need to care full-time for a gravely ill child she had adopted in Uruguay.
The affair rapidly became more complicated. Il Fatto Quotidiano raised questions over inconsistencies in the case and the adoption of the child — a key element in the request for clemency. A Uruguayan masseuse who worked at Cipriani’s villa in Punta del Este alleged that Minetti had continued to organise sex and drug-fuelled parties at the ranch, directly contradicting the humanitarian grounds on which she had sought the pardon.
In a highly unusual move, President Mattarella asked the justice ministry to check that everything was in order. Police and Interpol subsequently deployed to determine whether Minetti had lied in her application.
The renewed investigation
The Interpol inquiry, delegated to Deputy Prosecutor Gaetano Brusa, focused on the truthfulness of the documentation submitted by Minetti’s lawyers regarding the adoption of the sick child, as well as her criminal record.
Nanni’s statement on Wednesday drew a firm line under those inquiries. The press allegations were described as untrue, and there was held to be no evidence to support the claims made by the Uruguayan masseuse. Minetti had previously denied reports that the adoption process had been irregular and rejected claims of any legal dispute with the child’s biological parents. She offered no comment on the sex party allegations.
With the Milan prosecutor general’s office having confirmed its position, Mattarella is now expected to confirm his act of clemency.
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