意大利议会委员会指控锡耶纳牧山银行前董事长Mussari曾授意恐吓2013年坠亡的传媒主管Rossi，指控未经法院认定

An Italian parliamentary commission has alleged that a former Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA chairman instigated an attempt to intimidate the bank’s communications chief before his death — a dramatic turn in a mystery that has endured since he fell from his office window 13 years ago.

The commission said evidence it gathered alleges that ex-chair, Giuseppe Mussari, was the instigator of an intimidation attempt against David Rossi that was not originally intended to kill him, according to minutes of the commission’s proceedings published on the Chamber of Deputies website.

Rossi fell from his office window at the bank’s headquarters in Siena in 2013, in a case that judicial authorities concluded was suicide in two previous investigations. Mussari, listed as a partner at a law firm in the town of Catanzaro, has strongly denied the allegations. Messages sent to the law firm requesting comment weren’t responded to.

The committe’s findings represent the sharpest departure yet from the conclusions reached by authorities after Rossi’s death.

Rossi was a long-time aide to Mussari. He first worked as a spokesman for Monte Paschi’s biggest investor, Fondazione Banca Monte dei Paschi, and then was hired by the bank when Mussari was named chairman in 2006. A spokesperson for the bank declined to comment.

His family has challenged for years the conclusion that his death was a suicide. Media investigations and expert reports published over the years raised questions over the circumstances of his death.

Mussari denied any involvement, describing the accusations as false and saying he plans legal action during a phone interview to state-owned Rai television. “This is madness, it’s slander,” Mussari told Rai, according to a recording on its website. “I was never summoned by the commission,” he said, adding that “I’m suing everyone.”

Rossi’s death came at one of the most turbulent moments in the history of the world’s oldest bank. Prosecutors were investigating its acquisition of Banca Antonveneta and a series of transactions that contributed to a crisis at Monte Paschi. Rossi’s home and office had been searched weeks before his death in connection with the investigation but wasn’t himself under investigation.

Findings of the committee consist of allegations that haven’t been established in court. Ceccherelli, also denied knowing anything about the case or having any connection to the events surrounding Rossi’s death, media, including Rai, have reported.

The latest development builds on conclusions reached by the parliamentary commission earlier this year. In an interim report approved in March, the panel said expert evidence showed that Rossi had been the victim of an act involving third parties, ruling out suicide and concluding that his death was a homicide. The report said evidence indicated that Rossi had been suspended outside his office window and held by his wrists before falling.

Read More (2013): Monte Paschi Media Chief David Rossi Found Dead, Police Say

Read More (2013): Italian Prosecutors Open Probe Into Monte Paschi Insider Trading

The first investigation was archived in 2014, reopened the following year at the family’s request and archived again in 2017 after further forensic work. Prosecutors later examined new claims, while parliament set up its first inquiry commission in 2021, which ended the following year when the legislature was dissolved.

The current parliamentary commission has reached a markedly different conclusion from the earlier judicial investigations. It will now be up to prosecutors to assess the latest material gathered by the panel.