Editing Banco Ambrosiano (section)

==Key Players==
	•	[[Roberto Calvi]]: Banco Ambrosiano’s chairman, orchestrator of the fraudulent schemes, and P2 member. His murder remains a symbol of the scandal’s opacity.
	•	[[Paul Marcinkus]]: Vatican Bank president, whose endorsement of Calvi’s loans implicated the IOR. He claimed diplomatic immunity, avoiding prosecution.
	•	[[Licio Gelli]]: P2’s leader, convicted in 1998 to 12 years for his role in Ambrosiano’s collapse, linked to political and criminal networks.
	•	[[Michele Sindona]]: A Sicilian financier whose earlier scandals (e.g., Franklin National Bank) set a precedent for Calvi’s schemes. He died in 1986 from cyanide poisoning in prison.
	•	Bettino Craxi and Claudio Martelli: Indicted in 1994 for their roles, highlighting political complicity, though outcomes varied.
Investigations and Aftermath
	•	Bank of Italy’s Role: Suspicious since 1978, the Bank of Italy faced political resistance but exposed the scandal under Governor Carlo Ciampi. The bank was liquidated on August 6, 1982, with debts estimated at $700 million to $1.5 billion.
	•	Italian and International Probes: Investigations revealed Ambrosiano’s ties to organized crime, P2, and the Vatican. Gelli’s 1998 conviction and ongoing probes into Calvi’s death (reopened in 2005) underscored the scandal’s complexity. The Vatican’s limited cooperation and immunity claims hindered full accountability.
	•	Financial Impact: The collapse affected 250 banks, including Bank of America, with losses up to $400 million. The Vatican’s $224 million payment and Luxembourg’s efforts to recover $600 million (via Touche Ross) mitigated some damage but left creditors short.
	•	Vatican Reforms: Pope John Paul II appointed a panel of lay bankers (Joseph Brennan, Philippe de Weck, Carlo Cerutti) to investigate the IOR, establishing permanent oversight. The scandal prompted calls for transparency, though the IOR faced further scandals in 2010 and 2013.