Italian Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti admitted that using an apartment belonging to a former aide being investigated for corruption was a mistake, but dismissed speculation that he would resign, Reuters reported. Tremonti, widely seen as the guarantor of Italy's financial stability as the euro zone debt crisis has spread, has faced growing pressure over the affair, but has laughed off rumours that he would resign over the issue. "Did I commit unlawful acts? As far as I'm concerned, no. Did I make mistakes? Yes, definitely," Tremonti wrote in a letter to Corriere della Sera newspaper on Friday. "I have a job that is very difficult and involves a lot of effort, and I want to continue doing it, as best I can, in the interest of my country," Tremonti later told Italian television. Tremonti until a few weeks ago occupied a flat in Rome made available by Marco Milanese, a close aide being investigated for graft and influence-peddling by Naples magistrates. His weekly cash payments of 1,000 euros for the apartment from 2008 raised eyebrows among Italian media commentators and the opposition, who asked whether the payments were legal and declared to tax authorities. Cash payments for large transactions including doctors' and tradesmen's bills, rent and sometimes even house purchases, are common in Italy as a means of avoiding declaring income for tax. In the letter, Tremonti confirmed the weekly cash payments for the apartment, but denied any illegality. "Anyway, nothing in 'black' and no 'irregularities'," he wrote. "If I could admonish myself, it would be for not having left the apartment sooner. I did it in good faith, but without doubt that would have been better, given that this is now driving speculation that I could and should have avoided. With hindsight, I repeat, I was wrong." -- SPA
