Vatican financial scandal lawsuit
Audio 03:49
The trial of Cardinal Becciu and his 9 co-defendants, tried for various financial crimes, opened on Tuesday, July 27, 2021, before the Vatican Criminal Court.
It is held in a room fitted out for the occasion in the Vatican Museums.
© AP - Divisione Produzione Fotografica
By: Pauline Gleize Follow
8 mins
Yesterday, Tuesday July 27, was succinctly opened before being referred to October 5 a trial around a financial scandal not quite like the others.
The deposed cardinal Angelo Becciu is among the ten defendants who must answer for fraud, embezzlement, money laundering or even extortion.
It is the first time that such a high-ranking cleric has appeared before the Vatican tribunal.
At the heart of history a ruinous real estate investment in London.
Publicity
The project involves the purchase of a building in the “So chic” London district of Chelsea to create some fifty luxury apartments.
In the years 2013-2014, the Secretariat of State, the heart of the Roman Curia, borrowed more than $ 200 million, notably from Credit Suisse to invest in a Luxembourg fund.
Half of the sum must be used to buy a little less than half of the London building, the other to make stock market investments.
But now, the businessman at the head of this fund invests the money of the Church for "speculative operations", buyouts of fragile banks, for example.
Four years later, the Vatican put an end to this alliance with the fund, but not to the setbacks.
The two years of investigation have highlighted the imprudent use of the funds of Saint-Pierre, the collection of donations dedicated to charitable actions.
Unrelated to the London purchase, the trial will also focus on the tidy sums paid to relatives of Cardinal Becciu.
Defender of financial speculation
Beyond its finances, these cases have tarnished the image of the Vatican even as Pope Francis regularly denounces financial speculation.
The reform of the Vatican's finances was even one of its priorities.
Jorge Bergoglio became Pope in 2013, a year after the first
Vatileaks
.
A series of documents were then published reporting cases of corruption and mismanagement.
At that time, Benedict XVI had already taken a step towards greater transparency.
To comply with international standards, he created the AIF, the Financial Information Authority, which has since been restructured.
Two former leaders of this AIF are called to appear in the context of the trial which has just opened.
As for Pope Francis, he created a Secretariat of the Economy, a "ministry" responsible for overseeing the management of the Vatican.
In 2019, the reform of the IOR, the Institute for Works of Religion, i.e. the Vatican Bank, was launched.
One of the flagship measures: its financial statements must be verified by an external auditor and no longer internally!
A few years earlier, 5,000 suspicious bank accounts had nevertheless already been closed.
The reform is not yet complete.
But, this trial must be a page turned towards more transparency.
On this point, another step has been taken.
A few days ago, the papal state published for the first time information on its real estate assets.
Real estate heritage revealed
The smallest state in the world has more than 5,000 properties, 80% of which are in Italy.
Only 14% are rented at market prices, the rest are at reduced rates.
It should of course be taken into account that 40% of buildings are institutional: schools, convents or even hospitals.
The documents also show that the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See owns properties in upscale districts of Geneva, Lausanne or Paris.
The state of the finances of the Holy See has also been published.
In 2020, the accounts were less in deficit than in 2019, but nonetheless in deficit, to the tune of 65 million euros.
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Vatican
Pope Francis
Corruption
Finance
Economy