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Five acquitted over Calvi trial

Updated on 06 June 2007

By Faisal Islam

The mystery continues two and a half decades after the death of Roberto Calvi, the Italian banker entangled with the Mafia, Masonic secret societies, and the Vatican

Calvi's body was found under Blackfriars Bridge in London in June 1982. He was hanging from scaffolding underneath the bridge - five bricks stuffed into his suit pockets, along with more than £7000 in various currencies. But the City of London police said it was suicide.

Calvi was chairman of Banco Ambrosiano - then the second largest private bank in Italy. It collapsed owing hundreds of millions of dollars in June 1982.

The Vatican Bank was its largest shareholder, and part of Calvi's powerbase was his relationship with this man Archbishop Marcinkus who ran the Vatican Bank.

Calvi had been previously found guilty of illegally exporting currency. He came to London to meet mystery financiers who said they could help save Banco Ambrosiano, but was found dead.

It was the group who organised the visit to London who were in 2005 put on trial for his murder at a high security prison in Rome.

Today all five, including two mafia members were acquitted - the Calvi family investigator believes there are few options left to find who did it.

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