A new detail to emerge in recent days is the allegation that Becciu arranged in 2013 the transfer of 100,000 euros from the IOR, a Vatican bank, into the private account of one of his brothers. Becciu maintains that the funds were a loan, which was fully repaid.
Newsroom (21/02/2022 12:24 PM Gaudium Press) The addition of the Financial Information and Supervision Authority, or ASIF (formerly the AIF), to the civil action of the trial took place at a hearing on February 18, 2022.
The reason for ASIF’s inclusion as a plaintiff in the case will be heard at the end of the month, during the continuation of Friday’s hearing.
The financial information authority joins the civil parties of the Secretariat of State, the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), and the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA) as the injured parties in the Vatican’s historic trial to prosecute Vatican officials and collaborators in connection to the Secretariat of State’s purchase of a London property for 350 million euros ($396 million).
Two of the ten defendants, René Brülhart and Tommaso Di Ruzza, are the former president and director of the body known today as ASIF.
The February 18 hearing marked the reunification of the parallel investigations into a single proceeding.
Court president Giuseppe Pignatone said on Friday that the hearing on February 28 should conclude the trial’s preliminary phase and that, if all went well, an ordinance would be issued on March 1 related to defence lawyers’ requests for the case — or certain charges — to be dismissed.
Pignatone said that this would happen “If, and I stress if, everything is resolved.”
March 1 is also the date set by the court to begin creating a plan for the rest of the trial, particularly when defendants and witnesses will be asked to take the stand.
Cardinal Becciu
Cardinal Becciu, the former Substitute at the Secretariat of State and the highest-profile defendant, attended the pretrial hearing in person Friday, after having boycotted a previous session and telling the judges that the proceeding had sunk beneath his dignity.
Over the last week, Italian authorities served multiple warrants issued on the request of Vatican prosecutors concerning allegations that the cardinal used his position to funnel hundreds of thousands of euros in Church funds to members of his family.
Raids were conducted on several Church offices, including Becciu’s home Diocese of Ozieri in Sardinia. The cardinal told reporters ahead of court that the raids were painful for himself and a “humiliation” for the local Sardinian bishop.
Prosecutors are investigating hundreds of thousands of euros transferred from the Italian bishops’ conference into an account affiliated with the Ozieri diocese. The account was allegedly under the sole control of the SPES Co-op, a company belonging to Antonio Becciu, the cardinal’s brother.
According to prosecutors, the account was used for “entirely private purposes” and for the “commercial activity” of the company, including investments in mutual funds.
The cardinal denied all allegations of wrongdoing and insisted that he will prove his innocence during the trial. At the same time, lawyers for Becciu and his co-defendants continued to argue Friday that the Vatican judges should dismiss the entire case. They charge that Pope Francis had inappropriately used his sovereign power to dispense prosecutors from observing Vatican legal norms and had changed procedural laws after the investigation was already underway.
Becciu’s legal team has also demanded that prosecutors hand over hours of testimony and scores of documents seized from his former deputy, Msgr. Alberto Perlsaca. His testimonies have not been presented in court because, as per the prosecutors, they do not bear upon the case and pertain to other ongoing criminal investigations.
New Details emerge
A new detail to emerge in recent days is the allegation that Becciu arranged in 2013 the transfer of 100,000 euros from the IOR, a Vatican bank, into the private account of one of his brothers. Becciu maintains that the funds were a loan, which was fully repaid.
The cardinal was originally charged with embezzlement over the transfer, but the charge was downgraded when it became apparent that the money did not come from Secretariat of State funds under his control, but from the IOR.
Prosecutors lowered the charge to abuse of office after they found a June 13, 2013, letter from Becciu to the bank’s then-director, Paolo Cipriani requesting the funds. The money was sent days later, on June 24.
Coincidentally, one week after apparently approving the loan, Cipriani was forced to resign his position at the IOR, along with his deputy Massimo Tulli, over charges of criminal misconduct.
The pair were subsequently convicted for approving millions of euros worth of illegitimate transactions and investments.
(Via The Pillar and CNA)
Compiled by Raju Hasmukh