Allegations of bribery and offshore transactions, court seizures of bank accounts, derivatives operations gone wrong, magistrates' investigations, huge losses and a devastated share price reflect the banking disaster at Italy's Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), founded in 1472 and the world's oldest surviving bank.
On February 14, Gianluca Baldassarri, formerly MPS's head of finance, was arrested while reportedly carrying €35,000 in cash. Among 13 other people currently identified as under investigation are Antonio Vigni and Giuseppe Mussari, previously general manager and chairman of MPS, respectively. They have both now been replaced at the bank, by Fabrizio Viola and former UniCredit CEO Alessandro Profumo, respectively.
