Roberto Calvi: Italy’s Corruption Laid Bare

June 3, 2026 · 32 min

About this episode

The episode explores the complex story of Roberto Calvi, known as God's Banker, and the corruption surrounding his mysterious death.

This is a story that I’ve wanted to get to the bottom of for years- for those of you who aren’t aware of who Calvi is- he was known as God’s Banker- the guy who managed the vatican;s money back in the 70’s and early 80’s and who was found hanged under Blackfriars bridge in 1982, and here's an excerpt from the BBC on Calvi: "Calvi was at the centre of an incredibly complex web of international fraud and intrigue. It involved the Italian banking world, the underworld, the Mafia, Freemasonry and, most startling of all, the Vatican. The banker's death would trigger a wide-ranging political and financial scandal in Italy. It would involve the disappearance of millions of dollars, and leave behind an enduring mystery.” So as you can imagine- this is a story that has so many different strands- you could do probably a dozen different stories from all of the characters and plot lines-but Calvi’s story shines a light on how corrupt Italy was- this is a cracking story- enjoy

People in this episode

Host: Caemin

Topics covered

corruption
Italy
banking
Mafia
Vatican
fraud
mystery

Keywords

Roberto Calvi
Vatican
corruption
Mafia
financial scandal
Blackfriars bridge
1982

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Vatican, BBC, Mafia, Freemasonry

Places: Blackfriars bridge