Banco Ambrosiano Calvi: A Story of Corruption and Organized Crime

The Banco Ambrosiano Calvi scandal is a complex web of corruption and organized crime that involves some of the most powerful people in Italy.

The scandal began in the 1970s with the rise of Michele Sindona, a banker who would later be convicted of embezzlement and murder.

Sindona's bank, Sindona Bank, was heavily involved with the Banco Ambrosiano, and he would eventually become a key figure in the scandal.

One of the most infamous figures involved in the scandal is Roberto Calvi, the chairman of the Banco Ambrosiano, who was found dead in London's Blackfriars Bridge in 1982.

The scandal surrounding Banco Ambrosiano was a complex web of deceit and corruption that involved some of the most powerful people in Italy.

Roberto Calvi, the chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, was tried in 1981 and given a four-year suspended sentence for transferring $27 million out of the country in violation of Italian currency laws.

Calvi was released on bail pending appeal and kept his position at the bank, attempting suicide during his short spell in jail.

The controversy surrounding Calvi's dealings at Banco Ambrosiano echoed a previous scandal in 1974, when the Holy See lost an estimated $30 million upon the collapse of the Franklin National Bank.

Bad loans and foreign currency transactions led to the collapse of the Franklin National Bank, owned by financier Michele Sindona, who later died in prison after drinking coffee laced with cyanide.

Calvi wrote a letter of warning to Pope John Paul II on 5 June 1982, stating that the collapse of Banco Ambrosiano would "provoke a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions in which the Church will suffer the gravest damage."

Banco Ambrosiano collapsed in June 1982 following the discovery of debts between $700 million and 1.5 billion US dollars, with much of the money having been transferred through the Vatican Bank.

The Vatican Bank agreed to pay $224 million to 120 of Banco Ambrosiano's creditors in 1984 as a "recognition of moral involvement" in the bank's collapse.

It has never been confirmed whether the Vatican Bank was directly involved in the scandal due to a lack of evidence in the subpoenaed correspondence.

The prosecution of Giuseppe Calò and Licio Gelli was a major part of the investigation into Calvi's murder. Italian prosecutors implicated Calò in Calvi's murder in 1997, along with Flavio Carboni and Ernesto Diotallevi.

The investigation took a significant turn in 2005, when Italian magistrates formally investigated Gelli, the master of the P2 lodge, on charges of ordering Calvi's contract killing. The indictment alleged that Gelli and Calò ordered the murder to prevent Calvi from using blackmail power against his political and institutional sponsors.

The trial of the five individuals charged with Calvi's murder began in Rome in 2005, but the prosecution struggled to present a convincing case due to the 25 years that had elapsed since Calvi's death. The court ultimately cleared all five defendants of murdering Calvi in 2007, citing "insufficient evidence".

Prosecutors in Rome implicated Giuseppe Calò in Calvi's murder in 1997, along with Flavio Carboni and Ernesto Diotallevi.

Calò was accused of ordering the murder to prevent Calvi from using blackmail power against his Masonic and institutional sponsors.

Italian prosecutors concluded in 2003 that the Sicilian Mafia acted in its own interests to ensure Calvi couldn't blackmail them.

In 2005, Gelli was formally under investigation on charges of ordering Calvi's contract killing, along with Calò, Diotallevi, Carboni, and Manuela Kleinszig.

The indictment stated that the five ordered the murder to prevent Calvi from using blackmail power against his Masonic and institutional sponsors.

Gelli denied involvement but acknowledged that the financier was murdered, claiming the killing was commissioned in the People's Republic of Poland.

Gelli's name was not in the final indictment at the trial which started in October 2005.

The trial of the five individuals charged with Calvi's murder began in Rome on October 5, 2005. The defendants were Giuseppe Calò, Flavio Carboni, Manuela Kleinszig, Ernesto Diotallevi, and Calvi's former driver and bodyguard Silvano Vittor.

The trial took place in a specially fortified courtroom in Rome's Rebibbia prison. The courtroom was a secure location to ensure the safety of the defendants, witnesses, and judges.

All five individuals were cleared of murdering Calvi on June 6, 2007, after the judge threw out the charges citing "insufficient evidence" after hearing 20 months of evidence. The court ruled that Calvi's death was murder, not suicide.

The defence suggested there were plenty of people with a motive for Calvi's murder, including Vatican officials and Mafia figures who wanted to ensure his silence. This theory was supported by private investigator Jeff Katz, who claimed it was likely that senior figures in the Italian establishment escaped prosecution.

The prosecution found it hard to present a convincing case due to the 25 years that had elapsed since Calvi's death. Key witnesses were unwilling to testify, untraceable, or dead, making it difficult for the prosecution to build a strong case.

The case against Licio Gelli was dropped in May 2009, as there was insufficient evidence to argue that he had played a role in the planning and execution of the crime.

Roberto Calvi was an Italian banker born on April 13, 1920, in Milan. He was Chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, which collapsed in a major Italian scandal.

Calvi's death on June 17, 1982, is a source of enduring controversy. He was found with approximately $15,000 in cash and some bricks in his clothing under Blackfriars Bridge in London.

The official cause of death was initially ruled as suicide, but Calvi's family disputed this conclusion.

Roberto Calvi was an Italian banker who was dubbed "God's Banker" by the press due to his close association with the Holy See.

He was the Chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, which collapsed in one of modern Italy's biggest political scandals.

Calvi was born on 13 April 1920 in Milan.

He died in London on 17 June 1982 under mysterious circumstances.

His death was ruled a murder after two coroner's inquests and an independent investigation.

Five people were acquitted of Calvi's murder in Rome in June 2007.

The Vatican Bank and the Mafia have been implicated in Calvi's death, with some claiming they used Banco Ambrosiano for money laundering.

The question of whether Roberto Calvi's death was a suicide or not is a puzzling one. The team investigating his death couldn't see how a man in his sixties and not in the best of health could have accomplished this feat.

To add to the mystery, the investigation found that it would have been extremely difficult for Calvi to navigate his way beneath a well-used bridge in the middle of London without being seen. He would have had to shimmy along the scaffolding and choose a spot to loop one end of a rope around the scaffold and the other around his neck, all while carrying several bricks concealed beneath his clothes.

This theory is further supported by a scientist who tried to replicate Calvi's actions by placing similar blocks beneath his own clothing and recording chaffing to his thighs. Calvi's body, however, did not reveal any such chaffing.

The investigation's findings led to a second ruling, which returned an open verdict a year after the first. This was seen as a better outcome than a definitive answer of suicide, but it still left many questions unanswered.

Roberto Calvi's death was a shocking and mysterious event that has been debated for over three decades.

The circumstances surrounding his death were made into a feature film, I Banchieri di Dio – Il Caso Calvi (God’s Bankers – The Calvi Case), in 2001.

He was discovered in the early hours of June 18 suspended beneath Blackfriars Bridge close to the financial heart of London.

News of the discovery of his body sent shockwaves throughout the city. It didn’t take investigators that long to identify the corpse as that of Roberto Calvi.

The investigation lasted for a little over a month before a final determination was made, officially ruling the cause of death as suicide.

However, almost immediately, there was doubt surrounding this conclusion, with members of Calvi’s immediate family not accepting that he took his own life and hiring George Carman as legal counsel.

A private investigation began, challenging the original verdict and seeking a more thorough explanation.

The team investigating Calvi's death raised several questions about the possibility of foul play.

They pointed out that it would have been difficult for a man in his sixties and not in the best of health to accomplish this suicide.

The team also found that Calvi's body did not reveal any chaffing from the bricks he had concealed beneath his clothes.

A second ruling about a year after the first returned an open verdict, which was better than suicide but still not a definitive answer.

Here are some films that have explored the mystery of Roberto Calvi's death:

Forensic tests on Calvi's hands found no trace of brick residue, suggesting that the bricks in his suit pockets and underwear were placed there by someone else. This raised more questions than answers about the circumstances of his death.

The private detective, Jeff Katz, discovered that Calvi's shoes had no signs of rust or paint from the scaffolding of the bridge, further supporting the theory that someone else had handled the bricks. This lack of evidence pointed to a possible staging of Calvi's death.

Katz's investigation also found that the injuries on Calvi's neck were not consistent with a hanging death, adding to the mystery surrounding his demise. The high water level on the Thames river at the time of Calvi's death made it possible for a boat to moor beneath the bridge, allowing someone to easily reach the scaffolding.

It now appeared that someone had hung Calvi from the bridge sometime after his death, casting doubt on the official story of a suicide.

Organized crime and secret societies have a long history of infiltrating legitimate businesses and institutions.

Mafia ties have been linked to the Banco Ambrosiano scandal, with some claiming that Calvi embezzled the mafia out of $50 million.

The mafia may have held Calvi culpable for the loss and decided to make an example out of him, possibly tracking him to London after he left Italy.

Calvi used a fake passport to travel to London, but the identity he used, Gian Roberto Calvini, was not far off his own true name.

Sergio Vaccari, a local drug dealer with mafia ties, assisted Calvi upon his arrival in London.

Vaccari was found dead at home with 15 stab wounds to his face and neck, three months after Calvi was discovered.

A document containing a list of the members of the secret society, Propaganda Due (P2), was found in Vaccari's apartment.

Calvi's alleged embezzlement of $50 million from the mafia may have led to his downfall. This massive loss could have been a significant blow to the organization, potentially leading them to seek revenge.

Some claim that the mafia tracked Calvi to London, where he used a fake passport under the name Gian Roberto Calvini, which was not far off from his true name.

Calvi received assistance from a local drug dealer, Sergio Vaccari, and a businessman from Sardinia, Flavio Carboni, who both had mafia ties. Vaccari was living in Kensington and owned an antique dealership with his girlfriend.

Vaccari allegedly met with a mafia boss in Sicily before returning to Italy in 1981. Three months after Calvi's discovery, Vaccari was found at home with 15 stab wounds to his face and neck.

The story of Roberto Calvi's life and death has been the subject of several films and documentaries over the years.

BBC One's Panorama program chronicled Calvi's last days and uncovered new evidence suggesting others were involved in his death.

A 1983 PBS Frontline documentary, "God's Banker", investigated Calvi's links with the Vatican and P2, questioning whether his death was really a suicide.

The circumstances surrounding Calvi's death were made into a feature film, I Banchieri di Dio – Il Caso Calvi (God's Bankers – The Calvi Case), in 2001.

The film was directed by Giuseppe Ferrara and was later withdrawn from Italian cinemas due to a lawsuit, but was released on video after the lawsuit ended.

The Pope Must Die (1991) is a comedy film loosely based on the Roberto Calvi banking scandal, according to Variety magazine.

In the 2009 film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, the character of Tony, played by Heath Ledger, is found hanging alive under Blackfriars Bridge, an homage to Roberto Calvi as described by director Terry Gilliam.

Here are some notable films and documentaries about Calvi's life and death:

The Holy See and Vatican played a significant role in the Banco Ambrosiano scandal.

The Vatican was the largest shareholder of Ambrosiano, which meant they had a huge stake in the bank's success.

Calvi wrote a letter to Pope John Paul II warning of the impending collapse, implying that officials within both Ambrosiano and the Vatican were aware of the situation.

Debts of up to $1.5 billion were discovered in the lead up to the collapse, including debts to the mafia.

The Vatican Bank agreed to pay off 120 of the Ambrosiano creditors $225 million, but received immunity due to a lack of evidence.

Calvi disappeared from his Rome apartment on June 10, 1982, five days after contacting the Pope.

He managed to fly to London using a false passport with a single stopover in Zurich.

One week after his absence was noticed, officials at the Bank of Italy relieved him of his post.

Calvi's private secretary, Graziella Corrocher, wrote a note condemning Calvi's actions at the bank.

Corrocher then died, reportedly by throwing herself from the bank's fifth-floor window, with investigators ruling her death a suicide.

The circumstances surrounding Calvi's death were made into the feature film I Banchieri di Dio - Il Caso Calvi in 2001.

A heavily fictionalized version of Calvi appears in The Godfather Part III in the character of Frederick Keinszig.

The 1983 PBS Frontline documentary "God's Banker" investigated Calvi's links with the Vatican and P2, and questioned whether his death was really a suicide.

Roberto Calvi, the chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, received a four-year suspended sentence and a fine of nearly $20 million for his part in moving the equivalent of $27 million out of Italy.

The Vatican owned the biggest share in Banco Ambrosiano, and the mafia was one of the bank's key customers with "special needs."

The mafia and P2 leader, Licio Gelli, may have worked together to silence and punish Roberto Calvi when they lost their money in the bank collapse of 1982.

Five people went to trial in 2005 for the murder of Roberto Calvi, but they were acquitted for lack of evidence.

Millions of lire were transferred out of Italy illegally by Banco Ambrosiano in 1978.

The central bank of Italy, BoI, published a report about the bank's activities, leading to a full-fledged criminal investigation.

A total of $27 million was transferred illegally, with the chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, Roberto Calvi, receiving a four-year suspended sentence and a fine of nearly $20 million for his part in the money laundering.

Calvi's family believed that he was not willingly involved in the scandal, suggesting that someone had manipulated him into it.

The implications of murder can be far-reaching and complex.

In the case of Roberto Calvi's murder, the investigation revealed a web of involvement from top-level Mafiosi who testified about the organization's role in his killing.

Prosecutors identified the connection between the Vatican, the mafia, and the P2 lodge in 2003. The Vatican owned the biggest share in Banco Ambrosiano, and the mafia was a key customer with 'special needs'.

Calvi managed massive amounts of mafia and P2 money, laundering their funds and financing the organizations through the bank.

Five people went to trial in 2005 for Calvi's murder, but they were acquitted in 2007 due to lack of evidence.