An Italian court on Wednesday acquitted billionaire former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi of bribing witnesses to lie about his notorious "bunga bunga" parties, bringing closure to a years-long sex scandal.

The 86-year-old media mogul was accused of paying young starlets and others for "silence and lies" about his notoriously hedonistic soirees, which he has always insisted were elegant dinners.

"I have finally been acquitted after more than 11 years of suffering, mud-slinging and incalculable political damage," Berlusconi said in a statement issued following the Milan court hearing, which he did not attend.

The senator, whose Forza Italia party is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's governing coalition, had already been acquitted in two related cases of alleged bribery, in Siena in 2021 and Rome in 2022.

Berlusconi has dominated Italian public life for decades as a media tycoon, football club owner and three-time prime minister, and has long been dogged by legal battles, most of which he has won.