A senior Italian politician says he believes that a ransom of $1m or more was paid for the release of two female Italian aid workers kidnapped in Iraq.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has said no money was paid.
But Gustavo Selva, head of the Italian parliament's foreign affairs committee, said the denial was purely "official".
The BBC's Guto Harri in Rome says Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has fuelled the rumours by talking of "a difficult choice which had to be made".
"The young women's life was the most important thing," Mr Selva, a member of the Northern League, one of the parties in Italy's governing coalition, told French RTL radio.
"In principle, one should not give in to blackmail, but this time I think we had to give in - even though this opens a dangerous path because it is obvious that both for political or criminal reasons, this path can make others want to take others hostage to make some money."
The allegations, first made in a Kuwaiti newspaper, have been widely reported in the Italian media.
Security experts have told the BBC that money is likely to have played some part in the negotiations, but they also point to intensive behind-the-scenes negotiations on the part of the Italians.
Mr Berlusconi has spoken of 16 separate negotiations to free the women.
Meanwhile, there are unconfirmed reports that two French journalists and UK hostage Ken Bigley could soon be freed.
Mr Bigley's family has taken hope from a message posted on an Arabic website, purported to be from the kidnappers, which said the hostage would be freed soon.
The message said Mr Bigley would be spared but warned others would be kidnapped and beheaded if foreign forces did not leave Iraq.
And a French negotiator says he has reached a deal with kidnappers to free journalists Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot.
The envoy, Philippe Brett, told al-Arabiya TV he had seen the two men, kidnapped on 21 August, and they would be released soon.
However, the French foreign ministry said it had no knowledge of any deal and said Mr Brett was not part of any official negotiations.
The UK Foreign Ministry said it was trying to establish whether the internet message about Mr Bigley was genuine.
'Treated with respect'
The two Italian women, Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, flew back to Rome on Tuesday night to a rapturous welcome, after three weeks of captivity.
Two Iraqis seized with them on 7 September, and four Egyptian telecom workers taken in a separate kidnapping last week, have also been freed.
The two Simonas, as they have become known, appeared in good health as they arrived in Rome.
"There were times when we feared we'd be killed," Ms Torretta said. "But at other times we laughed together."
The women, both 29, told Italian officials they had been kept blindfolded for almost all the time and had never seen their captors' faces. They were kept together and in the same place all the time.
"We have been treated with a lot of respect," Ms Torretta told Italian news agencies.
Many different groups are thought to be operating in Iraq. Some are criminal gangs seeking ransoms, while others have made political demands.
The hardline group holding UK hostage Ken Bigley, the Tawhid and Jihad group, has beheaded two Americans seized with him. It has also been blamed for the deaths of previous hostages.
About 30 other foreigners, including several from Arab countries, are still being held, while several Iraqis have been kidnapped for ransom.
The BBC's Caroline Hawley in Baghdad no-one has precise figures of the number of Iraqis who have been abducted, but doctors, academics, businessmen, anyone with money, is at risk - as are their children.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3700480.stm
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has said no money was paid.
But Gustavo Selva, head of the Italian parliament's foreign affairs committee, said the denial was purely "official".
The BBC's Guto Harri in Rome says Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has fuelled the rumours by talking of "a difficult choice which had to be made".
"The young women's life was the most important thing," Mr Selva, a member of the Northern League, one of the parties in Italy's governing coalition, told French RTL radio.
"In principle, one should not give in to blackmail, but this time I think we had to give in - even though this opens a dangerous path because it is obvious that both for political or criminal reasons, this path can make others want to take others hostage to make some money."
The allegations, first made in a Kuwaiti newspaper, have been widely reported in the Italian media.
Security experts have told the BBC that money is likely to have played some part in the negotiations, but they also point to intensive behind-the-scenes negotiations on the part of the Italians.
Mr Berlusconi has spoken of 16 separate negotiations to free the women.
Meanwhile, there are unconfirmed reports that two French journalists and UK hostage Ken Bigley could soon be freed.
Mr Bigley's family has taken hope from a message posted on an Arabic website, purported to be from the kidnappers, which said the hostage would be freed soon.
The message said Mr Bigley would be spared but warned others would be kidnapped and beheaded if foreign forces did not leave Iraq.
And a French negotiator says he has reached a deal with kidnappers to free journalists Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot.
The envoy, Philippe Brett, told al-Arabiya TV he had seen the two men, kidnapped on 21 August, and they would be released soon.
However, the French foreign ministry said it had no knowledge of any deal and said Mr Brett was not part of any official negotiations.
The UK Foreign Ministry said it was trying to establish whether the internet message about Mr Bigley was genuine.
'Treated with respect'
The two Italian women, Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, flew back to Rome on Tuesday night to a rapturous welcome, after three weeks of captivity.
Two Iraqis seized with them on 7 September, and four Egyptian telecom workers taken in a separate kidnapping last week, have also been freed.
The two Simonas, as they have become known, appeared in good health as they arrived in Rome.
"There were times when we feared we'd be killed," Ms Torretta said. "But at other times we laughed together."
The women, both 29, told Italian officials they had been kept blindfolded for almost all the time and had never seen their captors' faces. They were kept together and in the same place all the time.
"We have been treated with a lot of respect," Ms Torretta told Italian news agencies.
Many different groups are thought to be operating in Iraq. Some are criminal gangs seeking ransoms, while others have made political demands.
The hardline group holding UK hostage Ken Bigley, the Tawhid and Jihad group, has beheaded two Americans seized with him. It has also been blamed for the deaths of previous hostages.
About 30 other foreigners, including several from Arab countries, are still being held, while several Iraqis have been kidnapped for ransom.
The BBC's Caroline Hawley in Baghdad no-one has precise figures of the number of Iraqis who have been abducted, but doctors, academics, businessmen, anyone with money, is at risk - as are their children.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3700480.stm
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