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Mario Chiesa

Mario Chiesa

  • Mario Chiesa

  • A member of the Italian Socialist Party, PSI

Scam

Mani Pulite (“Clean Hands”)

The Launch

  • On 17 February 1992, in Milan, Mario Chiesa (a member of the Italian Socialist Party, PSI) was arrested for accepting a bribe from a cleaning-company seeking a public contract.

  • The arrest triggered a wider investigation by a team of Milan prosecutors, headed by Antonio Di Pietro, and soon the probe expanded beyond one man to much of Italy’s political-business nexus.



What It Uncovered

  • A massive system of kickbacks and illicit party-financing tied to public contracts and political parties.

  • At its peak, more than half of Parliament members and thousands of public officials were caught in overlapping investigations.



Major Consequences

  • The scandal effectively ended the “First Republic” of Italy — many long-standing parties collapsed or were radically reshaped.

  • It stirred massive public outrage, shook faith in politics, and led to major legal and electoral reform.

17 Feb, 1992