Niccolo Mainoni

Sound design, mix, and mastering by Mark McAdam. Our theme song and original score are composed by me and Mark McAdam. Our studio engineer is Ewen Lai Tramuen. Voice acting by Bonnie Biagini, Andrea Bianchi, Ferrante Cosma, Luca De Gennaro, Michele Teodori, and Mustafa Zialan. Field recording by Justin Trieger, Jonathan Zenty, Pete Shev, Jonathan Gruber, and Joanna Broder.

Sound design, mix, and mastering by Mark McAdam. Our theme song and original score are composed by me and Mark McAdam. Our studio engineer is Ewen Lai Tramuen. Voice acting by Bonnie Biagini, Andrea Bianchi, Ferrante Cosma, Luca De Gennaro, Michele Teodori, and Mustafa Zialan. Field recording by Justin Trieger, Jonathan Zenty, Pete Shev, Jonathan Gruber, and Joanna Broder.

Fact-checking by Zoe Sullivan. Our executive producers are me, Niccolo Mainoni, along with Sarah Geismar, Katie Long, and Alison Falsetta from Crooked Media. Josh Dean, Adam Hoff, Matt Scher, and Vanessa Gregoriadis are the executive producers at Campside Media. One last thing before we go. You can also listen to Shadow Kingdom in Italian.

Fact-checking by Zoe Sullivan. Our executive producers are me, Niccolo Mainoni, along with Sarah Geismar, Katie Long, and Alison Falsetta from Crooked Media. Josh Dean, Adam Hoff, Matt Scher, and Vanessa Gregoriadis are the executive producers at Campside Media. One last thing before we go. You can also listen to Shadow Kingdom in Italian.

Look up Il Banchiere di Dio wherever you get your podcasts.

Look up Il Banchiere di Dio wherever you get your podcasts.

Friends of the Pod subscribers can listen to the full season of Shadow Kingdom right now. Join Friends of the Pod at crooked.com slash friends or on Apple Podcasts.

Friends of the Pod subscribers can listen to the full season of Shadow Kingdom right now. Join Friends of the Pod at crooked.com slash friends or on Apple Podcasts.

News reports said that Calvi had vanished seemingly in the middle of the night. His disappearance came just a couple of weeks before huge debt payments at the Ambrosiano were coming due. hundreds of millions of dollars. Calvi had been frantically trying to drum up cash or buy more time from its creditors. He'd scheduled meetings with bankers and lawyers for the following week.

News reports said that Calvi had vanished seemingly in the middle of the night. His disappearance came just a couple of weeks before huge debt payments at the Ambrosiano were coming due. hundreds of millions of dollars. Calvi had been frantically trying to drum up cash or buy more time from its creditors. He'd scheduled meetings with bankers and lawyers for the following week.

He even made plans with his driver to commute to work as usual the following day. But instead, the driver found a vague note from Calvi saying that he was tired, he wasn't feeling well, and that he was going to go away. The driver found the note so suspicious, so unlike Calvi, that he almost immediately alerted the authorities. God's banker was officially a missing person.

He even made plans with his driver to commute to work as usual the following day. But instead, the driver found a vague note from Calvi saying that he was tired, he wasn't feeling well, and that he was going to go away. The driver found the note so suspicious, so unlike Calvi, that he almost immediately alerted the authorities. God's banker was officially a missing person.

But there was no announcement from kidnappers, no demand for a ransom, and none of Calvi's employees knew what to do. Up until this point, only Calvi knew the full extent of the Banco Ambrosiano's debts. Only he knew the tangled web of shell companies and offshore accounts set up to move that borrowed money around the world.

But there was no announcement from kidnappers, no demand for a ransom, and none of Calvi's employees knew what to do. Up until this point, only Calvi knew the full extent of the Banco Ambrosiano's debts. Only he knew the tangled web of shell companies and offshore accounts set up to move that borrowed money around the world.

Now that Calvi was missing and his massive debts were coming due, his employees struggled to run the bank without him, to untangle the mess he'd left behind. And because of the size of the Ambrosiano, Italian regulators were watching as well. The Ambrosiano was Italy's biggest private bank. It had money tied to businesses around Italy and the world. If Calvi's bank failed, it

Now that Calvi was missing and his massive debts were coming due, his employees struggled to run the bank without him, to untangle the mess he'd left behind. And because of the size of the Ambrosiano, Italian regulators were watching as well. The Ambrosiano was Italy's biggest private bank. It had money tied to businesses around Italy and the world. If Calvi's bank failed, it

could rock international stock markets.

could rock international stock markets.

But the headline that seemed to dominate, beyond the bigger financial questions about the bank, what everybody wanted to know was what the hell happened to Roberto Calvi? Was he kidnapped? Was he on the run? Had he been killed? I was pretty sure Calvi decided to escape rather than being abducted. And I know he'd be dead a week later. What I didn't know is what happened in between.

But the headline that seemed to dominate, beyond the bigger financial questions about the bank, what everybody wanted to know was what the hell happened to Roberto Calvi? Was he kidnapped? Was he on the run? Had he been killed? I was pretty sure Calvi decided to escape rather than being abducted. And I know he'd be dead a week later. What I didn't know is what happened in between.