VATICAN CITY: A Vatican court delivers its verdict today (Saturday) in a historic trial centred around a complex London property deal, with a once-powerful cardinal among ten defendants facing jail for alleged financial crimes.
Angelo Becciu, aged 75 and a former confidant of Pope Francis, previously considered a potential papal candidate, stands as the highest-ranking clergyman within the Catholic Church to undergo legal proceedings in the compact Vatican City State.
The group of defendants, comprising financiers, lawyers, and former Vatican staff, faces a range of charges from fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering to extortion, corruption, and abuse of office. At the trial’s core is the 350-million-euro acquisition of a luxurious property in London, initiated in 2014, which ultimately incurred significant financial losses for the Vatican.
Commencing in July 2021, the trial has cast a spotlight on the Holy See’s convoluted financial dealings, a subject Pope Francis has actively sought to rectify since assuming leadership of the Catholic Church in March 2013. Additionally, the proceedings serve as a litmus test for the Pope’s reforms to the Vatican justice system. In a notable move preceding the trial, Francis granted the Vatican’s civilian courts the authority to adjudicate over cardinals and bishops, a responsibility previously held by a court overseen by cardinals.
Prosecutor Alessandro Diddi has proposed a seven-year-and-three-month jail term for Becciu and varying sentences, ranging from almost four to thirteen years, for the remaining defendants. Becciu vehemently asserts his innocence, vehemently rejecting the charges as baseless and maintaining that he never accepted any illicit funds.
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The Holy See positions itself as an “offended party” and, through Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, has appealed to the court to “punish all crimes.” Four Vatican entities, acting as civil parties, have sought compensation from the defendants, including a claim of 177 million euros for moral and reputational damages.
The trial, encompassing over 80 hearings within a dedicated room in the Vatican Museums, has encountered procedural disputes, with defence attorneys raising concerns about restricted access to crucial evidence. Becciu, a well-traveled former Vatican diplomat, has been a consistent presence in the courtroom. Formerly the second-in-command at the Secretariat of State, the Vatican’s department closest to the pope, from 2011 to 2018, Becciu assumed leadership of the department overseeing the canonization of saints before abruptly resigning in September 2020 upon learning of the investigation against him.
Initially focused on a probe into 125,000 euros of Vatican funds donated to a Sardinian charity, allegedly benefiting Becciu’s brother, the investigation later expanded to include the London property transaction, causing losses tapping into resources earmarked for charitable purposes. Prosecutors, during the trial’s inception, depicted a scenario of risky investments lacking oversight, coupled with double-dealing by external consultants and insiders.
Among the defendants are key players in the London deal, including brokers Gianluigi Torzi and Raffaele Mincione, former Vatican investment manager Enrico Crasso, and ex-Vatican employee Fabrizio Tirabassi. Becciu also faces allegations related to payments to Cecilia Marogna, a Sardinian woman currently on trial, which he contends were intended to facilitate negotiations for the release of a Colombian nun abducted in Mali.
