Vatican prosecutor appeals verdict that largely dismantled his fraud case but convicted cardinal
Vatican CityAP The Vatican’s chief prosecutor has appealed a court verdict that largely dismantled his theory of a grand conspiracy to defraud the Holy See of millions of euros but found a cardinal guilty of embezzlement. Prosecutor Alessandro Diddi filed his appeal this week of the three-judge tribunal’s decision in a complicated financial trial that aired the […]
Verdicts in big Vatican corruption trial due on Saturday
Vatican CityReuters Defence lawyers at the Vatican’s big corruption trial, in which one of the 10 defendants is a cardinal, completed their summing up on Tuesday and the court president announced that the verdicts would be announced on Saturday. A Vatican trial of 10 people accused of financial crimes, including Cardinal Angelo Becciu, resumes after a chief judge […]
Pope sought to lose “as little as possible” in London deal
Vatican City AP Pope Francis gave clear indications to get out of a disastrous London real estate deal by saying the Vatican must “start over and lose as little money as possible”, an exit strategy that eventually involved paying off a broker €15 million, the Holy See’s number three official told a court Thursday. Archbishop […]
Vatican official describes frenzy to turn London deal around
Vatican CityAP A former Vatican official testified Tuesday that he was under intense “psychological pressure” to finalise a deal over the Holy See’s troubled investment in a London property, but entered into the negotiations without a lawyer and didn’t realise the deal got the Vatican nothing in return. Fabrizio Tirabassi testified for some seven hours […]
Trial testimony: Vatican wanted to pay off London broker
Vatican CityAP The former head of the Vatican’s financial watchdog testified Tuesday that the agency launched an intelligence investigation into a suspicious London real estate deal after it learned about it but had no power to stop the Vatican secretariat of state from concluding it. The testimony by defendant Rene Bruelhart in the Vatican’s big […]
Testimony: Pope approved Vatican payout for London property
Vatican CityAP Pope Francis allegedly authorised negotiating an exit strategy for a key figure in the Vatican’s bungled London real estate investment and was so satisfied with the outcome that he paid for a celebratory dinner at a fancy Roman fish restaurant the night €15 million payout closed, a defendant in the Vatican’s extortion trial […]
Lawyers: papal decrees violated fraud suspects’ human rights
Vatican CityAP Defence lawyers in the Vatican’s fraud and extortion trial on Friday accused Pope Francis of violating their clients’ human rights by issuing four secret, executive decrees that gave prosecutors free reign to investigate in ways that deprived the suspects of basic legal guarantees. The lawyers argued that the resulting trial into the Vatican’s […]
Italy court definitively annuls warrant for Vatican suspect
Rome, ItalyAP An Italian appeals court has definitively annulled the pre-trial arrest warrant for the prime suspect in the Vatican’s big fraud and embezzlement trial, signaling an end to extradition procedures in Britain for now, his legal team said Wednesday. The decision by Rome’s Tribunal of Review is a blow to Italian prosecutors but also […]
Italian high court faults prosecutors in Vatican-linked case
Rome, ItalyAP Italy’s supreme court has faulted prosecutors for withholding evidence benefiting the key suspect in the Vatican’s fraud and embezzlement trial in a parallel case in the Italian courts. The Court of Cassation ordered the Tribunal of Review to consider that evidence before deciding whether to uphold an international arrest warrant for Gianluigi Torzi, […]
Explainer – Behind the Vatican’s London real estate scandal
Rome, ItalyAP The Vatican has set a 27th July trial date for 10 people, including a once-powerful cardinal and papal contender, on charges related to the Holy See’s €350 million investment in a luxury London real estate venture. The 487-page indictment request capped a two-year investigation that exposed how the Vatican had lost millions of […]