Mario Scaramella Professor at the University of Naples, Italian jurist Date of Birth: 23.04.1970 Country: Italy

Biography of Mario Scaramella

Mario Scaramella is an Italian legal expert and professor at the University of Naples. He is known for his involvement in various investigations related to the activities of Soviet intelligence agencies during the Cold War. Scaramella has also worked as a consultant for a parliamentary commission in Italy that focused on the study of secret documents obtained from former KGB officer Vasili Mitrokhin.

In 2004, Scaramella became the target of an armed attack while assisting the police in the demolition of an illegally constructed villa owned by a mafia boss. He gained attention in March 2005 when he claimed, based on information allegedly obtained from the "Mitrokhin archive," that a Soviet submarine had placed 20 tactical nuclear torpedoes near the coast of Italy in 1970. This statement was later refuted by the Russian Ministry of Defense and international military experts.

Scaramella allegedly visited the headquarters of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in Moscow on several occasions while working on the Mitrokhin archive. Reports circulated online, claiming that Scaramella had close ties to FSB Deputy Director Viktor Kolmogorov. Alexander Litvinenko, a former FSB officer, provided testimony to the "Mitrokhin commission" and acted as a mediator between Scaramella and the commission. The information provided by Litvinenko mainly concerned alleged connections between Soviet intelligence agencies and the Italian terrorist group, the "Red Brigades."

On November 1, 2006, Scaramella met with Litvinenko in a London restaurant and handed him a document containing names of individuals supposedly involved in the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Litvinenko fell ill soon after and was hospitalized with severe poisoning. While Litvinenko did not directly accuse Scaramella, his statements suggested that the Italian may have been the perpetrator. Scaramella expressed fear for his life and went into hiding, fearing persecution from "Russians and Chechens."

In November 2006, Scaramella held a press conference in Rome, where he revealed that the email he had received contained threats against himself and Litvinenko. He claimed that their London meeting was intended to discuss these threats. Following Litvinenko's death, Scaramella gave an interview to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, stating his belief that the Kremlin was responsible for the former officer's murder.

In December 2006, Scaramella returned to Naples and was arrested by Italian authorities. He faced charges of arms smuggling and defamation. The media presented conflicting information about Scaramella, referring to him as a journalist, an expert on Soviet intelligence activities, and a businessman. According to The Times, Scaramella described himself as a "security consultant" who lectured and conducted research at various American universities. Later, it was confirmed that Scaramella was a professor at the University of Naples.