(Telegraph) According to his account at the Monte dei Paschi di Siena bank in Bologna, the opera singer had a ?7 million overdraft and owed more than ?5 million in mortgage payments on his properties in New York, Monte Carlo and Modena.
The statements were reported in La Repubblica, an Italian newspaper, which also said Pavarotti had cash and stocks worth ?14 million at other banks. The figures have not been confirmed or denied by the notary employed by Pavarotti's family.
Giorgio Bernini, a lawyer for Nicoletta Mantovani, the singer's second wife, said: "It is no secret that the maestro had debts. In the final years of his life he cut back on his performances and he also had very expensive hospital bills to pay." However the figures may not reflect the full value of Pavarotti's estate, which could be as large as ?200 million.
"We have only just started taking the inventory. We have made a programme and we will be working hard up to December 6. These figures are just a tiny part, so you are only seeing a partial vision of his finances," said Giorgio Cariani, the notary.
Fabrizo Corsini, the lawyer representing Pavarotti's four daughters, expressed his surprise at the size of the debts. He said: "We never imagined Pavarotti would owe so much. We have received the paperwork and we are going through it with a fine-tooth comb to see what exactly he had or did not have."
Meanwhile, Katia Ricciarelli, a soprano singer who was a close friend of Pavarotti's, condemned the media circus about his fortune. "Big Luciano was a very generous man. I find all these quarrels about his inheritance disgusting.
"They started on the day the man was buried. He was a man who gave so much, and did not deserve to have his name finish up in the newspapers for these reasons."