A failed real estate deal in London worries the Vatican to this day.
The investigation uncover a network of dubious machinations.
In July the Papal States brought charges - also against a cardinal.
Rome - The judiciary of the Vatican wants to bring charges of embezzlement and abuse of office among other things after a loss-making real estate deal in London.
On July 27, the trial of ten people and several companies begins before the Vatican court, as the Holy See announced on Saturday.
There is also a cardinal among them.
The judiciary summoned nine men and one woman from church and lay offices of the State Secretariat as well as high-ranking employees of the Vatican financial information authority and people from the international financial world.
The background to this is a failed real estate deal in the London district of Chelsea, which took place in 2018 and 2019.
As read in a long report by the media portal “Vatican News”, the State Secretariat, the most important authority in the Vatican, was apparently not aware at the time that those involved in the deal were doing their own thing.
The investment banker Gianluigi Torzi, for example, managed to secure shares in the property with which he had voting rights, according to the report. However, the Vatican's shares did not have that and the Catholic Papal States lost control of the property. The Vatican finally had to buy back the shares for 23 million euros. Funds also flowed between other parties involved in connection with the real estate business, as it was said.
Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu was among those who have now been summoned. He is suspected of embezzlement and abuse of office. Pope Francis dismissed the 73-year-old from his offices at the end of September last year. Becciu denies the allegations. "I am the victim of a hatred to my detriment," he said. He had waited a long time to find out about the specific allegations so that he could deny them and prove his innocence to the world.
The list of allegations against the defendants is long.
They range from abuse of office, money laundering, fraud and embezzlement to corruption, as the communication revealed.
The former President of the Vatican Financial Information Authority, René Brülhart from Switzerland, is also in the dock.
He said he was convinced that the allegations against him would fizzle out completely.
He always performed his duties correctly.
Investment banker Torzi, against whom the Italian authorities had already issued an arrest warrant in April, has also been summoned.
The judiciary accused him of money laundering and issuing bills for fictitious financial transactions.
In the real estate deal in London, the Italian is said to have made an illegal profit of 15 million euros, part of which is said to have gone into the purchase of shares.
Since July 2019, several Vatican and Italian authorities have been investigating the matter. It all started with an advertisement from the Vatican Bank. At that time there was talk of irregularities in the financial participation of a property in London. According to the Holy See, this resulted in a very entangled network of people who, through their actions, caused the Catholic Papal States noticeable losses. Money is also said to have been withdrawn from the Peterspfennig, the annual worldwide collection for the Vatican.
The investigations extended internationally to the United Arab Emirates, Great Britain, Jersey, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Switzerland. The process follows, according to the Holy See, after Pope Francis' reforms on transparency in Vatican finances. The 84-year-old cracked down on the scandal and withdrew the State Secretariat's administration of capital and real estate values. This is now taken care of by the goods administration in the Vatican, Apsa. dpa
