Editing Banco Ambrosiano (section)

==Scandals ==
The Banco Ambrosiano scandals emerged in the late 1970s and culminated in 1982, driven by massive financial irregularities and Calvi’s intricate web of fraudulent transactions.
	Calvi orchestrated a scheme involving approximately $1.2–$1.5 billion in unsecured loans to shell companies, primarily in Panama, with names like Bellatrix Inc. and Manic Inc. These companies, often mere mailboxes, were controlled by Calvi and linked to the Vatican Bank, which owned stakes in them. The loans, funded through Eurodollar market borrowings, were used to inflate Banco Ambrosiano’s share prices, purchase media assets like Corriere della Sera (via Rizzoli Editore), and funnel money to political and criminal entities.
	The bank’s Luxembourg subsidiary, Banco Ambrosiano Holdings, and its Peruvian branch, Banco Ambrosiano Andino, were central to these transactions. For example, Andino made loans to Bellatrix without oversight, later uncovered as fraudulent. These activities violated Italian banking laws, which restricted capital exports.
	Investigations revealed Banco Ambrosiano’s role in laundering money for the Sicilian Mafia, particularly through its offshore accounts, and channeling funds to political causes, including the Polish Solidarity movement, the Nicaraguan Contras, and the Somoza regime in Nicaragua, allegedly with CIA involvement.