Pope Francis steps up fight against financial opacity in Vatican

Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica, May 18, 2020. Vatican Media / Handout via Reuters

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The Sovereign Pontiff appointed on Monday an Italian lawyer specializing in financial crime, who will strengthen internal justice within the Vatican.

An appointment that comes a few days after the resignation of a cardinal, accused of embezzlement.

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With our correspondent in the Vatican,

Professor of commercial law at a Roman university and expert in banking law, Gianluca Perone has officially joined the team of the promoter of justice of the Vatican, in charge of carrying out internal investigations in financial matters.

A strategic position, the promoter of justice is himself responsible for piloting anti-money laundering operations.

It is he who has indicted in recent months several relatives of

, the former number three of the Curia who was forced to resign last Thursday, accused of being involved in opaque financial transactions.

According to his relatives, Pope Francis wants to give a boost to financial transparency at the Vatican.

This new appointment undoubtedly owes nothing to chance: this Tuesday, in fact, a delegation from Moneyval, the Council of Europe experts responsible for evaluating the measures put in place against money laundering, is expected in Rome.

Their last visit three years ago reported on the Vatican's progress but still noted the efforts to be made to bring the investigations to court.

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• Vatican

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