Mani Pulite

Mani Pulite, or known as 'Operation Clean Hands', was a nationwide political scandal that led to the downfall of the First Italian Republic(from 1948 to 1994), and led to the demise of many prominent Italian parties. With the arrest of Mario Chiesa, a member of the Italian Socialist party, it saw the beginning of the Mani Pulite judicial investigation in Milan, with subsequent investigations into other politicians and figures.

The scandal involved six former prime ministers, and as many as 5,000 public figures fell under suspicion. At some point, more than half of the Italian parliament were indicted.

Many referred to the corrupt system uncovered as Tangentopoli. The term derives from Italian tangente, which means “kickback”, and Greek polis meaning “city. This refers to kickbacks given for public works contracts, it is thus sometimes translated as “Bribesville” or “Kickback City”.