Vatican Indicts Cardinal And 9 Others On Financial Crimes, Subordination, Fraud Charges

Powerful Cardinal Angelo Becciu Has Been Charged By Vatican Prosecutors For Financial Crimes Against The Holy Church In A Move Approved By The Pope.

Laudetur Iesus Christus.

ROME - A Vatican prosecutor has on Saturday charged ten people, including a once-powerful cardinal, on charges which include embezzlement, abuse of office, extortion and fraud in connection with the Secretariat of State's 350 million-euro investment in a London real estate venture.

According to a Vatican press statement, the President of the Vatican's criminal tribunal, Giuseppe Pignatone, set July 27 as the trial date. The indictments were handed down following a sprawling, two-year investigation into how the Secretariat of State managed its vast asset portfolio.

Vatican Criminal Tribunal

The scandal has allegedly resulted in a sharp reduction in donations and prompted Pope Francis to strip the office of its ability to manage the money.

Five former Vatican officials, including Cardinal Angelo Becciu and two officials from the Secretariat of State, were indicted, as well as Italian businessmen who handled the London investment.

Angelo Cardinal Becciu

Also indicted on alleged embezzlement charges was an Italian intelligence expert accused of buying luxury goods with Holy See money intended to help free Catholics held hostage.

Vatican prosecutors accuse the main suspects of rorting millions of euros from the Holy See in fees and other losses related to financial investments funded in large part by donations to the Pope for works of charity. The suspects have denied wrongdoing.

One of the main suspects in the case, Italian broker Gianluigi Torzi, is accused of extorting the Vatican out of 15 million euros. The Vatican had retained Torzi to help it acquire full ownership of the building from another accused financier who handled the initial investment in 2013 but lost money on what the Vatican said were speculative and imprudent investments.

However, the Vatican hierarchy signed off on Torzi's contract, with both the Pope's No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and his deputy approving it. Neither were indicted. In addition, Francis himself was aware of the deal and Torzi's involvement in it.

Vatican prosecutors have produced evidence suggesting the Vatican hierarchs were hoodwinked by Torzi and aided in part by an Italian lawyer, who was also indicted on Saturday, into agreeing to the deal.

Torzi has denied the charges and said the accusations were the fruit of a misunderstanding. He is currently in London pending an extradition request by Italian authorities, who are seeking to prosecute him on related charges.

Also indicted was a former papal contender and Holy See official, Angelo Cardinal Becciu, who helped engineer the initial London investment when he was the Chief of Staff in the Secretariat of State.

Last year, the Holy Father sacked him in connection with a separate issue, a 100,000 euro donation of Holy See funds to a diocesan charity run by Becciu's brother.

Prosecutors also accuse him of interfering in the investigation by allegedly trying to have one of the witnesses change their story.

In a statement Saturday issued by his lawyers, His Eminence insisted on the "absolute falsity" of the accusations against him and denounced what he said was "unparalleled media pillory" against him in the Italian press.

"I am the victim of a plot hatched against me, and I have been waiting for a long time to know any accusations against me, to allow myself to promptly deny them and prove to the world my absolute innocence," he said. "Only by considering this great injustice as a test of faith can I find the strength to fight this battle of truth."

Becciu has denied wrongdoing in the London investment. Nevertheless, he has admitted he donated the money, insisting it was for the charity and not for his brother.

One of Becciu's proteges, Cecilia Marogna, was also indicted on embezzlement charges. Becciu had hired Marogna as an external consultant after reaching out to him in 2015 with concerns about security at Vatican embassies in global hotspots. As a result, Becciu authorized hundreds of thousands of euros worth of Holy See funds to help her free Catholic hostages, according to WhatsApp messages printed by the Italian media.

Her Slovenian-based holding company, which received the funds, was among the four companies also ordered to stand trial.

Marogna has said the money was wired to her as compensation for legitimate security and intelligence work and reimbursements for her expenses. However, the Vatican says she spent the money on purchases that were incompatible with the humanitarian scope of her company.

Also indicted were the former top two officials in the Vatican's financial watchdog agency for alleged abuse of office. Prosecutors say that by failing to stop the Torzi deal, they performed a "decisive function" in letting it play out.

The investigation, which began in 2019, brought to light "a vast network of relationships with financial market operators that have generated significant losses for the Vatican finances," according to a Vatican statement issued on Saturday.

In the statement, the Vatican said that the judicial investigation was "directly connected to the directives and reforms" of Pope Francis, "in his attempt to achieve transparency and clean up Vatican finances." A task once undertaken by Australian Cardinal George Pell.