The notorious Italian banker was found dead in London in 1982
Roberto Calvi was found dead in London in 1982(Image: ITV)
A hit ITV true documentary has returned, but what happened to Roberto Calvi, the man at the centre of its first episode.
Premiering in 2023, Cold Case Forensics was a major hit for ITV. The station has been exploring the world of true crime in recent years with series such as Secrets of a Psychopath, Killer In The House and Harlan Coben’s Final Twist.
Cold Case Forensics follows world-leading forensic scientist Dr Angela Gallop and her team as they try to unlock the forensic secrets which finally solved some of the world’s most controversial cases.
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Its first season explored the cases of Rachel Nickell, a woman who was stabbed to death in southwest London in 1992, the 1988 murder of Lynette White in Cardiff, and the murder of 18-year-old student Stephen Lawrence.
For those unaware of what a cold case is, it’s an unsolved criminal investigation that is no longer actively pursued by police because all available leads have run out. Investigators like Dr Angela use new science and fresh eyes to try and uncover the truth.
Returning for its second series on Tuesday night (July 28), episode one of Cold Case Forensics’ new episodes is titled The Death of God’s Banker and explores a case that still grips the nation over 50 decades after it occurred.
Its synopsis reads: “When a body is found hanging under London’s Blackfriars Bridge, the mystery surrounding the death of Roberto Calvi – the man dubbed ‘God’s Banker’ – leads into a murky world of financial deals with The Vatican and The Mafia. Decades on, can Dr Gallop and her team finally prove what happened – and whether it really was a murder?”
(Image: ITV)
Calvi joined the Banca Commerciale Italiana (Italian Commercial Bank) after the Second World War before moving to Banco Ambrosiano, then Italy’s second-largest bank, in 1947. He later became the bank’s president.
In 1978, the Bank of Italy produced a report on Banco Ambrosiano which found that several billion had been exported illegally, leading to criminal investigations. Calvi was tried in 1981, given a four-year suspended sentence, and fined $19.8 million for transferring $27 million out of the country.
While he was released on bail after spending some time in prison, Banco Ambrosiano was in financial ruin and collapsed in 1982 after debts were discovered between $700 million and $1.5 billion. A panicked Calvi wrote to Pope John Paul II asking for help from the Vatican Bank, which owned shares in Banco Ambrosiano. The Vatican Bank agreed to pay $224 million to 120 of Banco Ambrosiano’s creditors.
Calvi went missing from his Rome apartment on June 10, 1982, having fled the country on a false passport under the name Gian Roberto Calvini, fleeing initially to Venice. His body was soon found hanging from scaffolding under Blackfriars Bridge, located in London.
His family refused to accept the suicide ruling, which was overturned in 1983 when a second inquest delivered an open verdict on the death. His wife, Clara Calvi, decided to hire private investigators and forensic experts, including Angela, to look into his death.
When his body was exhumed in 1998, evidence mounted that he could not have killed himself. Injuries to his neck found in the forensic tests were inconsistent with death by hanging. Additionally, Calvi’s hands had never touched the bricks in the pockets of his clothes.
Forensic tests showed that injuries to his neck were inconsistent with death by hanging, and that Calvi’s hands had never touched the bricks in the pockets of his clothes. In October 2002, Italian judges concluded that the banker had indeed been murdered.
In October 2002, Italian judges concluded that the banker had indeed been murdered. Five people went on trial and were charged with Calvi’s murder in 2005, with the the prosecutor, Luca Tescaroli, arguing that he was killed for stealing Mafia money which he was meant to launder.
Sardinian financier Flavio Carboni, his former girlfriend Manuela Kleinszig, Roman entrepreneur Ernesto Diotallevi, Calvi’s former driver bodyguard Silvano Vittor, and convicted Cosa Nostra treasurer Pippo Calo, were all acquitted of any involvement in Calvi’s death in 2007.
Over 40 years after he was found dead in London, what happened to Calvi remains a mystery to this day and one that true crime fans can’t seem to agree on.
Cold Case Forensics airs on ITV1 and on ITVX at 9pm on Tuesday, June 28.
