In a line of investigation opened by the Vatican promoter of justice, in parallel with the process on the management of funds in the Secretariat of State, Cardinal
Giovanni Angelo Becciu
is
being investigated
with other people for
criminal association
.
This was confirmed today to journalists by the promoter of justice
Alessandro Diddi
who, at the opening of hearing No. 37 of the trial against the prelate, reported on the outcome of the rogatory letter for the hypothesis of a crime of association, in which the The Court of Sassari has forwarded to the Vatican the results of the investigations carried out on
the Spes Cooperative
of Ozieri, led by Becciu's brother, Antonino.
Transmitted the documents from the Tribunal of Sassari to the Vatican
When questioned by reporters, both Cardinal Becciu and his defenders (lawyers Fabio Viglione and Maria Concetta Marzo) declared that they knew nothing about the affair.
Although it is a parallel investigation, the Pg Diddi has decided to deposit the results in the records of the current trial, considering them relevant.
The documentation sent by the Court of Sassari via
pen drive
contains "a selection of the documents sent to this Office" and in particular annotations by the
Guardia di Finanza of Oristano
as well as a series
of chat extracts
from the telephone devices seized from Maria Luisa Zambrano, niece of the cardinal, and to Becciu's brother.
“
I consider the documents received particularly relevant
” Diddi said during the hearing.
Among other things, there are "considerations on this Office and on the Tribunal itself", as well as considerations on journalists who according to the investigators "have participated in a press campaign against this trial".
There is also talk of Monsignor
Sergio Pintor
, former bishop of Ozieri who died two years ago, "who was the bishop when the account used by the Spes Cooperative was opened", and of his ties "with people in this process".
pay
Cardinal Becciu in the Vatican
Alleged forgery of bread deliveries to parishes
Then the transport documents ("delivery notes" of quantities of bread) from Coop Spes to the parishes emerged - exactly 928 documents - which would have served "to justify the sums paid by the diocese to Spes".
Diddi reported a real
forgery of the delivery notes
for 18 thousand kilos of bread
, documents which according to the reconstruction of the Finance were made a few weeks before the start of the current process, but concerning product deliveries dating back to 2018. As explained by the Vatican Pg, the Fiamme Gialle "have gone parish by parish to look for the recipients of the bread and
no one has recognized their signature on
the transport documents".
The accusation: "It was the Becciu family who managed the diocese and Caritas"
As for the relationship between the then bishop Pintor and the Becciu family, Diddi spoke of "heavy interference by the Roman Curia on the activity of the diocese", arguing that "Pintor had no control over Caritas:
the diocese and Caritas were essentially managed by the Becciu family
.
The Public Prosecutor's Office of Sassari has come to our own conclusions".
Furthermore, with regard to the so-called “promiscuous account” used by Spes, “mons.
Pintor knew nothing of his openness ”.
In the chats it emerges that "they were looking for a bank manager who would certify that it was Msgr.
Pintor, the author of the opening of the account, whom he, on the other hand, did not know ”.
From other findings, we can deduce "cordial, friendly" relations between Giovanna Pani, between Becciu's family members, and Cecilia Marogna.
(ApPhoto)
John Angelo Becciu
The recording of the phone call to the Pope
According to Diddi, a "
disturbing fact
" emerges in the Oristano Finance report : the discovery of the
recording of a telephone call between Cardinal Becciu and Pope Francis
on 24 July 2021, three days before the opening of the trial in the Vatican and about ten days after the Pontiff left the Gemelli following colon surgery.
"In addition to Becciu, Zambrano and an unidentified third person are present in Piazza del Sant'Uffizio".
From the recording, made with the phone of the cardinal's niece and
retransmitted in the courtroom behind closed doors
, Becciu can be heard complaining to the Pope "
You have already condemned me, it is useless for me to go to trial!
”.
The cardinal also talks about the money paid on the advice of Cecilia Marogna to the British agency Inkerman for the release of a Colombian nun kidnapped by jihadists in Mali.
“For the ransom - reported Pg Diddi -
Becciu asks the Pope to confirm that he had given his authorization
to pay the money to Inkerman.
In his statements,
the cardinal said that the Pope was aware;
in the phone call, however, the Holy Father remains perplexed
.
On the other hand, he had just come out of his hospitalization, he was tired ”.
The rest of the hearing was dedicated to the interrogation of the prosecution witness, Monsignor Alberto Perlasca, former head of the Administrative Office of the Secretariat of State as well as a civil party in the trial, testimony that will continue tomorrow with the examination by the defence.