Call for third 'God's banker' inquest

Calvi's body was found hanging under Blackfriars Bridge

By Chris Summers BBC News Online

The son of Vatican banker Roberto Calvi plans to apply to the coroner to open a third inquest into his father's death 20 years ago.

Calvi key dates

1971: Becomes president of Banco Ambrosiano

1981: Convicted of corruption, but bailed pending appeal

11 Jun 1982: Leaves Italy with a suitcase full of documents

19 Jun 1982: Body found

Jul 1982: Suicide verdict

Jul 1983: Open verdict at second inquest

1997: Italian police charge two with murder

Oct 2002: Forensic report says Calvi murdered

Mr Calvi, 62, the president of the struggling Banco Ambrosiano, was found hanging from scaffolding beneath Blackfriars Bridge on the morning of 19 June 1982.

He had worked his way up the corporate ladder to become director-general and president of the Banco Ambrosiano, which he had transformed from a small regional bank into a major international player.

At the time of his death billions of lire was owed to the Banco Ambrosiano by several Panamanian companies which were linked to the Vatican's Institute of Religious Works.

The Vatican denied legal responsibility for the bank's downfall but acknowledged "moral involvement", and paid $241m to creditors.

The bank collapsed in a scandal that implicated the Mafia and international freemasonry.

In the last five years there have been a series of dramatic developments which have shed new light on Calvi's death.

Two men, Giuseppe "Pippo" Calo, and Flavio Carboni, have been charged in Italy in connection with his murder and are awaiting trial.

Then, in October this year, a long-awaited report by a German forensic scientist concluded that Mr Calvi had been murdered.

The Brinkmann report said he could not possibly have climbed the scaffolding, hung the noose around it and jumped off, because there were no zinc deposits on his shoes.

The first inquest, held five weeks after Mr Calvi's death, concluded he had committed suicide because he faced disgrace and jail back home in Italy.

The Brinkmann report has established... that he was killed at a building site nearby and was then taken to the bridge later on... and he was already dead when he was hanged.

Carlo Calvi
Son

A second inquest, called after pressure from the Calvi family, later recorded an open verdict.

Mr Calvi's son, Carlo, is now calling for the City of London coroner to open a third inquest into his death.

He told BBC News Online: "I have begun preliminary inquiries on how to apply for a third inquest in London.

"The British Government's position that my father's death was fully investigated by the police does not hold.

"I believe that the Brinkmann report and the existence of criminal proceedings in Rome would provide sufficient basis for a third inquest.

'Strangled elsewhere'

"The Brinkmann report has established...that he was killed at a building site nearby and was then taken to the bridge later on...and he was already dead when he was hanged."

Mr Calvi, who lives in Canada, said he was arranging for relevant information to be translated into English.

"There are good reasons for wanting a third inquest," he said.

Calvi remains an enigma 20 years after his death

Mr Calvi said mistakes were made during the original investigation.

"Scenes of crime work was very cursory," he said.

"Some of the firefighters who found the body and lifted it down from the scaffold, have never been interviewed."

Mr Calvi says he is seeking a "judicial and historical conclusion" to the case.

A City of London Police spokeswoman said they could not comment but said they had offered their assistance to the Italian authorities.