Uranium to make atom bomb sold to four Italians
BBC International Monitoring/Corriere della Sera
June 12, 2005/June 11, 2005
(For personal use only)



Rome: "During the month of September 2004 I was approached by an Ukrainian national, whom I know by the name of Sasha, who wanted to sell me a briefcase containing radioactive material, and, more precisely, uranium for military use." There is enough testimony by Giovanni Guidi, a Rimini businessman, and by other defendants - Giorgio Gregoretti, Elmo Olivieri and Giuseppe Genghini - to fuel a spy story [preceding two words published in English] worthy of a novel by Le Carre. Involved is a briefcase containing five kilos of highly enriched uranium, half of which would be enough to build an atomic device, which remained for months in a Rimini garage. A briefcase, however, which eluded investigators, and which managed to get back into the hands of the Ukrainian national, who perhaps is still in Italy. Together with another briefcase having a similar content, and a third believed to conceal a tracking system. The entire kit geared to the assembly of a small tactical atomic bomb.
 
A mystery story fuelled by information supplied the Rimini police department by a consultant of the Mitrokhin committee, Mario Scaramella, who, acting on behalf of the agency presided over by Paolo Guzzanti, was trying to track illegal funds from the former USSR that had transited through [the Republic of ] San Marino. The two defendants' defence attorney warns that this "could be the trial of the century, but also the century's biggest hoax". The mystery, however, continues, and emerges from the testimony of the defendants, who were questioned Wednesday [8 June] night and all day Thursday, and subsequently released with the charge of possession of war weapons.

The uranium was allegedly contained in a hermetically sealed, black, leather briefcase, along with a photo illustrating its content. Five uranium bars weighing one kilo each. Sasha delivered the briefcase to Guidi. "My precarious economic situation induced me to accept," explains the 46-year-old Rimini businessman, who is married to a Russian woman, and runs an import-export firm that has dealings with Russia and Ukraine. Guidi in turn informed Giorgio Gregoretti, who "placed it [the briefcase] in a cardboard box, which he subsequently stored in his garage." There it remained until it was placed in the trunk of Gregoretti's car, where it was seen by Elmo Olivieri, a financial consultant. Time passes "without their finding anyone interested in the material", says Guidi, and the Ukrainian "asks for the briefcase back".

Guidi also testified that "even another briefcase was to arrive" from the warehouse of a multinational firm in Basel. At which time he makes another bid, this time asking for 60/70,000 euros, in addition to bank guarantees sealed by a three-million-euro credit letter. "We often went to San Marino," but nothing came of it, says Guidi. At this point, the three decide to ask for Genghini's help, "who in the past had proven to be a war-material expert", says Guidi, who reports having learned from Genghini himself that the uranium was worth 30m euro per kg.

Genghini admits having spoken of radioactive material, but "geared to hospital use". Later, according to Guidi, Olivieri mentions a prospective purchaser: a Swiss multinational. Then, the affair gets muddled. Guidi boasts of being protected by the intelligence services, and claims he was threatened on 2 June. The only sure thing is that the Rimini police, headed by Sebastiano Riccio, start looking for the "atomic" briefcases on 9 June, as soon as they learn that the defendants are planning to transfer to Lugano. The case is by no means closed, with search operations still under way.

Text of report by Virginia Piccolillo, "Uranium to make atom bomb sold to four Italians", published by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera website on 11 June