An Italian parliamentary committee has alleged that Giuseppe Mussari, former chair of Monte dei Paschi di Siena, orchestrated an act of intimidation that led to the 2013 death of the bank’s communications chief, David Rossi. Lawmaker Gianluca Vinci, leading the inquiry, stated Mussari was the instigator of an attack not initially intended to be fatal. The committee claims others, including a prominent figure in Florence football circles, helped select unidentified individuals who carried out the assault outside the bank’s Palazzo Salimbeni headquarters.
Rossi fell from his office window in Siena; prosecutors ruled it suicide, but his family has long contested this. CCTV allegedly showed men checking his body before fleeing without calling emergency services. A note reading “I have done something stupid” was found in his office.
The committee distributed witness testimonies linking Mussari and the unnamed football figure to the plot, stating they feared Rossi might talk. Mussari has denied the allegations as “absolutely false and defamatory,” vowing legal action. At the time of Rossi’s death, Monte dei Paschi was under investigation for its disastrous €9bn Antonveneta acquisition from Santander.
Mussari was previously convicted but fully acquitted by Italy’s Supreme Court in 2023.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing