to Marcinkus. But Pope Paul VI wanted to be absolutely sure of the relationship, so Marcinkus with, as he put it, “the pope’s seal of approval,” arranged for the Vatican bank to sell the Banco Ambrosiano the controlling interest it held in the Banca Cattolica del Veneto, a Venice bank with more than 100 branches. Aside from the official price of $30 million, the Vatican bank also got a secret side payment of $6.2 million. This money, channeled into the Vatican’s subsidiaries in Liechtenstein, was then used by Calvi to buy for the Vatican enough additional shares in the Banco Ambrosiano to give it control of his bank.
Calvi, the son of a bank clerk, who would succeed Canesi as chairman, consolidated the Vatican’s anonymous holding companies under a wholly owned subsidiary in the Bahamas, called the Cisalpine Overseas Bank (Nassau). This entity, based in Nassau and controlled from a small office in Monte Carlo, became the center of a dizzying daisy-chain of money transfers and borrowing. With the pope’s approval, Marcinkus became president of the Vatican bank, and he served on the board of this subsidiary in the Bahamas.
Initially, Marcinkus continued, Calvi was able to generate huge profits for the Vatican, but there was still a problem with Sindona. In November 1977, Sindona, who had been arrested in New York for making false statements in his attempt to take over an American bank, demanded that Calvi pay him nearly $10 million. Sindona claimed that he was owed this money as a “commission” and needed it for his legal expenses in America. When Calvi refused, Sindona carried out a threat to ruin Calvi.
On November 13, 1977, employees of the Banco Ambrosianowere stunned to find the walls of the surrounding buildings of Milan’s financial center plastered with giant white, yellow, and blue posters revealing in great detail the ultra-secret transactions of the bank. The event, which became known in Italy as the day of the “tazebas,” or Chinese banners, since the excess of colorful posters made the financial district of Milan look like Beijing, had been organized by Sindona. Since he had been privy to the secret transfers, the wall posters had revealed the numbered accounts in Switzerland through which passed the secret side payments that had been used by Calvi and the Vatican bank to get control of the Banco Ambrosiano. In addition, they contained three questions which, if correctly answered, would expose the sham transactions between the Vatican bank and the Banco Ambrosiano. Calvi ordered that the posters be ripped down, but it was too late, since Sindona had also sent an anonymous letter to the Bank of Italy detailing the transactions. The Bank of Italy, the central bank of Italy, had no choice but to launch an investigation.
To make matters worse for both Calvi and Marcinkus, the court-appointed liquidator of Sindona’s banks, Mario Ambrosoli, reported that in Sindona’s records he had found coded evidence of a $6.5-million illegal payoff to an “American bishop and Milanese banker.” The press suggested that the bishop was Marcinkus and the banker, Calvi. Before Ambrosoli could go further in unraveling the code, Ambrosoli was shot dead at point-blank range in front of his home by two unidentified men. While his evidence may have been problematic, his silencing further amplified the furor over the posters.
Marcinkus’ position was further weakened by a series of “unfortunate events,” as he put it. First, Pope Paul VI, his main supporter, died in August 1978. Shortly afterward, his successor, Pope John Paul, also abruptly died. Then the election of the first non-Italian pope in seven centuries, John Paul II, left the Curia in disarray. In addition, Luigi Mennini, who was thenthe chief aide to Marcinkus at the Vatican bank, was arrested in Italy for currency manipulation. As the pressure built, the new pope appointed a commission of fifteen cardinals to study the finances of the Vatican.
Calvi
Calvi, the son of a bank clerk, who would succeed Canesi as chairman, consolidated the Vatican’s anonymous holding companies under a wholly owned subsidiary in the Bahamas, called the Cisalpine Overseas Bank (Nassau). This entity, based in Nassau and controlled from a small office in Monte Carlo, became the center of a dizzying daisy-chain of money transfers and borrowing. With the pope’s approval, Marcinkus became president of the Vatican bank, and he served on the board of this subsidiary in the Bahamas.
Initially, Marcinkus continued, Calvi was able to generate huge profits for the Vatican, but there was still a problem with Sindona. In November 1977, Sindona, who had been arrested in New York for making false statements in his attempt to take over an American bank, demanded that Calvi pay him nearly $10 million. Sindona claimed that he was owed this money as a “commission” and needed it for his legal expenses in America. When Calvi refused, Sindona carried out a threat to ruin Calvi.
On November 13, 1977, employees of the Banco Ambrosianowere stunned to find the walls of the surrounding buildings of Milan’s financial center plastered with giant white, yellow, and blue posters revealing in great detail the ultra-secret transactions of the bank. The event, which became known in Italy as the day of the “tazebas,” or Chinese banners, since the excess of colorful posters made the financial district of Milan look like Beijing, had been organized by Sindona. Since he had been privy to the secret transfers, the wall posters had revealed the numbered accounts in Switzerland through which passed the secret side payments that had been used by Calvi and the Vatican bank to get control of the Banco Ambrosiano. In addition, they contained three questions which, if correctly answered, would expose the sham transactions between the Vatican bank and the Banco Ambrosiano. Calvi ordered that the posters be ripped down, but it was too late, since Sindona had also sent an anonymous letter to the Bank of Italy detailing the transactions. The Bank of Italy, the central bank of Italy, had no choice but to launch an investigation.
To make matters worse for both Calvi and Marcinkus, the court-appointed liquidator of Sindona’s banks, Mario Ambrosoli, reported that in Sindona’s records he had found coded evidence of a $6.5-million illegal payoff to an “American bishop and Milanese banker.” The press suggested that the bishop was Marcinkus and the banker, Calvi. Before Ambrosoli could go further in unraveling the code, Ambrosoli was shot dead at point-blank range in front of his home by two unidentified men. While his evidence may have been problematic, his silencing further amplified the furor over the posters.
Marcinkus’ position was further weakened by a series of “unfortunate events,” as he put it. First, Pope Paul VI, his main supporter, died in August 1978. Shortly afterward, his successor, Pope John Paul, also abruptly died. Then the election of the first non-Italian pope in seven centuries, John Paul II, left the Curia in disarray. In addition, Luigi Mennini, who was thenthe chief aide to Marcinkus at the Vatican bank, was arrested in Italy for currency manipulation. As the pressure built, the new pope appointed a commission of fifteen cardinals to study the finances of the Vatican.
Calvi
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