Leo Sisti

Leo Sisti, Italy, holds a law degree from the University of Pavia and is a contributing reporter for the Italian newsweekly L'Espresso, where he has been a special correspondent. In more than 30 years, he has investigated corruption, financial crimes, mafia, politics, terrorism and organized crime.

In the early ‘90s, Sisti covered the so-called ‘clean hands’ investigation which stamped out corruption in Italy, and he was awarded the prestigious Il Premiolino journalism prize.

Sisti, who joined ICIJ in 2000, has co-authored seven books, two of which were on bankruptcy-related scandals involving the Vatican: "Il Banco paga" (The Bank Pays, 1982) and "Il Caso Marcinkus" (The Marcinkus Case, 1991).

The other five books were: "La morte del Maestro" (The Maestro' Death, 1987); "Les Nouveaux Reseaux de la Corruption", in French (The new network of corruption, with Fabrizio Calvi, 1995); "L’Intoccabile - Berlusconi e Cosa Nostra"(The Untouchable - Berlusconi and Cosa Nostra, 1997), on the ties between former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Cosa Nostra; "Piedi Puliti" (Clean Feet, which investigated corruption in Italian soccer, 1998); and "Processo all’italiana" (Trial Italian-style), published in 2012 and written with Piercamillo Davigo, a famous judge of the ‘clean hands’ investigation.

In Sisti's first solo book, in 2004, he examined Al-Qaida’s financial dealings: “Caccia a Bin Laden”. In 2007, he published a book on the Sicilian mafia, "L'isola del Tesoro" (The Treasure Island) and, in 2019, “Paradise for the Rich”, an account into European tax havens.


Sisti has worked on 17 ICIJ projects, including the Panama Papers, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.