THE BANCO-AMBROSIANO CASE - AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE UNDERESTIMATIONOF THE RELATIONS BETWEEN ORGANIZED AND ECONOMIC CRIME

Moving from the Ambrosiano case, the paper aims to analyse the links e xisting between organized crime and economic crime, showing the patter ns of relations and highlighting the weaknesses and strengths of both forms of crime as they interact with each other. The paper also underl ines the peculiarity of such relations in the Italian criminal situati on, which is characterised by deep, strong and long-standing connectio ns between organized crime and economic crime. This relation, which ha s been ignored or at least underestimated for years, has recently star ted to be partially uncovered and recognised in the investigations con cerning the collapse of the Ambrosiano and the death of its president, Roberto Calvi. Further proof has also been provided in other cases, s uch as the inquiries of the Parliamentary Committee on the Masonic Lod ge P2 and the investigations carried out by Sicilian judges on some Ma fia families, thanks to the information provided by witnesses belongin g to Cosa Nostra.