Vatican unveils investment ethics body as corruption trial drags on -Breaking
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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO – A Vatican court trial of 10 men accused of financial crimes including Cardinal Angelo Becciu has resumed after the chief judge directed the prosecution to allow the defense more evidence access and to question those who weren’t given this right.2/2
By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY (Reuters] – Tuesday saw the Vatican unveil a new committee to supervise its ethics investments. The Vatican also continued a corruption investigation into a London realty deal that it lost over 200 million euros.
A cardinal from Ireland, Kevin Joseph Farrell (based at Vatican) will head the committee. However, four other lay financial professionals are also included in this group, according to a statement.
Jean Pierre Casey from RegHedge Investments, Britain and Giovanni Christian Michael Gay at Union Investments.
Privatfonds GmbH, Germany; David Harris from Skagen Funds, Norway, and John J. Zona (head of investments, Boston College), a Catholic university located in the United States.
In the new Vatican constitution Praedicate Evangelium, which Pope Francis released in March and that went into effect on two days ago, the creation of an investment ethics commission was specified.
In the Constitution, the committee had to guarantee that Vatican investments were ethical and proper. They are now serving five-year terms.
While Raffaele Minicione (an Italian broker) was being question for the second day, the Vatican informed the court that the Vatican had appointed the committee to the 21st major corruption trial hearing. Last July saw the trial begin.
This real estate deal was the center of the trial. It began when Mincione, the Vatican Secretariat of State, invested 350 million euro ($390million) in order to buy a building located in high-end London.
The indictment document states that the Vatican was feeling cheated by Mincione in 2018. Accordingly to this document, it turned to Gianluigi Torizzi as a broker to exit the first deal.
However, Torzi is being accused by Vatican Prosecutors of trying to deceive the Vatican and take over the building through the assignment of voting shares. To get out of this deal, the Vatican gave Torzi 15 millions euros.
Mincione and Torzi, along with eight other defendants, were accused of wrongdoing.
These men are accused of extortion as well as abuse of office and fraud.
In January 2008, Vatican executed a contract for the sale of the Vatican. It was a final exit from an endeavor that, as the court heard, had resulted, in part, in 217 million Euro losses.
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