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'God's Banker' murder claim
Last updated at 00:00am on 20.05.05
Roberto Calvi
Police re-examining the death of Italian banker Roberto Calvi have concluded that he was murdered, it emerged today.
Calvi, who was known as "God's Banker" because of his links to the Vatican, was found hanged under Blackfriars Bridge in central London in 1982 with bricks in his pockets.
He was initially thought to have killed himself.
Detectives from City of London Police have now concluded that he was murdered.
They believe he was probably strangled by two or possibly more people and then hung from scaffolding.
Four people were charged with Calvi's murder by the Italian authorities last month after a preliminary trial lasting nearly a year. Their trial is due to begin in October.
City of London detectives reopened their investigation into Calvi's death in September 2003.
A City of London Police spokesperson said today: "There is a crime report for murder relating to the death of Roberto Calvi."
The force has been assisting the Italian authorities with their investigation into Calvi's death and its officers are likely to give evidence at the October trial.
Initially, Calvi was believed to have killed himself. An inquest recorded a verdict of suicide but a second inquest recorded an open verdict.
However, in 2002 a panel of forensic experts concluded that he had been killed. His family were convinced he was the victim of crime.
