Vatican Fraud Trial: Cardinal receives five and half years sentence

A once powerful Italian cardinal was today, Saturday, December 16, 2023, sentenced to a five and half years jail time by a Vatican court   for financial crimes.

 

The historic trial of the 75yrs old Angelo Becciu, the former adviser to Pope Francis who was once considered a papal contender himself, stands out as he is the most senior clergyman in the Catholic Church to face a Vatican criminal court.

He and nine other defendants, including financiers, lawyers and ex-Vatican employees, were on trial for accusations of financial crimes focused on an opaque London property deal.

The Voice of America, VOA, news said Court President Giuseppe Pignatone read out the verdict Saturday, with Becciu accused of embezzlement, abuse of office and witness tampering.

However, Fabio Viglione, his lawyer said they would go on appeal after his client was handed a fine of 8,000 euros ($8,727).

'At the heart of the trial is the 350 million euro ($380 million) purchase of a luxury property in London, as part of an investment that began in 2014 and ended up costing the Vatican tens of millions of euros.'

The trial, which started sitting since July 2021, exposed financial impropriety which Pope Francis has aimed to clean up since taking over the helm of affairs of the Catholic Church in March 2013.

Weeks before the trial, Pope Francis gave the Vatican civilian courts power to try cardinals and bishops, where previously they were judged by a court presided over by cardinals.

Prosecutor Alessandro Diddi had requested seven years and three months in jail for Becciu and between almost four and 13 years for the others.

Becciu incidentally strongly protested his innocence, denouncing the accusations against him as "totally unfounded," insisting he never took a cent.

The Holy See which viewed itself as "an offended party" has asked through Secretary of State Pietro Parolin for the court to "punish all crimes."

Four Vatican entities are civil parties. They had requested compensation from the defendants, including 177 million euros ($193 Million) for moral and reputational damage.

Since the trial opened, there have been more than 80 hearings in the dedicated room within the Vatican Museums, where a portrait of a smiling Pope Francis hangs on the wall.

The process had been mired by procedural wrangling, with defense lawyers complaining about a lack of access to key evidence.

Becciu, was number two in the Secretariat of State, the Vatican department that works most closely with the pope, from 2011 to 2018.

He was moved to lead the department that deals with the creation of saints, before abruptly resigning in September 2020, after being informed of an investigation against him.

Initially, he told the trial, this was about a probe into 125,000 euros of Vatican money he donated to a charity in his native Sardinia, which prosecutors claim benefited his brother, who ran the organization.

He was later drawn into investigations into the purchase and sale of the property on London's Sloane Avenue which resulted in losses that, according to the Vatican, dipped into resources intended for charitable causes.

When the trial opened, prosecutors painted a picture of risky investments with little or no oversight and double-dealing by outside consultants and insiders.

Among the defendants are two brokers involved in the London deal, Gianluigi Torzi and Raffaele Mincione, as well as Enrico Crasso, a former Vatican investment manager, and former Vatican employee Fabrizio Tirabassi.

Becciu is also accused over payments made to a Sardinian woman, Cecilia Marogna — who is also on trial which he claims were to help negotiate the release of a Colombian nun kidnapped in Mali.