The Authority says efforts to help the Vatican comply with international norms for fighting money laundering and terrorist financing are paying off.

A report which the Authority released last Friday says 150 suspicious financial transactions were flagged in 2017, 57 fewer than in the previous year.

Only eight of those were judged possibly to be the result of criminal activity.

Sixteen fewer reports were sent to the Promoter of Justice in the Vatican City's tribunal for investigation in comparison to the 24 sent in 2016.

The report noted none of the suspicious transactions involved financing terrorism.

Furthermore, the report confirmed a "robust reporting system and an effective application of the regulatory framework of the Holy See and the Vatican City State."

The Financial Information Authority was set up by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 as an anti-money laundering watchdog unit.

Its establishment followed decades of scandals involving the Vatican Bank.

Among the successful prosecutions of serious criminal offences the Vatican undertook in 2017 was that of Giuseppe Profiti.

Profiti was the former president of the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesù Hospital.

He was given a one-year suspended prison sentence for "abuse of power" for diverting €422,000 (£370,000/$500,000) of the hospital's funds to upgrade former Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone's Vatican apartment.

The Financial Intelligence Authority reported it is also continuing with a "pro-active approach to cooperate and exchange information with its foreign counterparts to fight illicit financial activities."

Source

• NZ Herald
• National Catholic Reporter
• Catholic Herald
• Crux Now
• Image: 123RF

Bertone is the Vatican's former secretary of state.

A Vatican court has convicted the former president of the Pope's children's hospital of diverting about NZ$676,000 in donations to renovate the cardinal's flat.

Although he was originally charged with embezzelment, Giuseppe Profiti was convicted of a lesser offence - abuse of office - after his defence argued the money was intended as an investment to benefit the hospital.

Profiti was given a one-year suspended sentence.

The hospital's treasurer, Massimo Spina was acquitted.

News sources have noticed neither the cardinal who benefited from the renovation, nor the contractor who was apparently paid twice for doing the work, was charged.

During the trial, the cardinal was shown to have personally invited Gianantonio Bandera, whom he knew, to do the renovation work.

The trial also showed that Bertone's project did not go through the normal external bidding process.

While Bertone paid about NZ$500,000 himself, the hospital also paid Bandera's firm.

News sources also noted the trial showed Bertone "bent rules to get his retirement apartment ready after Pope Francis was elected in 2013 and named a new secretary of state".

Bertone was removed from office in 2013, eight months after Francis was elected. The renovation on his apartment started a few weeks later.

Source

• Independent
• Religion News Service
• Reuters
• Image: Crux

He told the Vatican tribunal that arrangements for remodeling Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone's Vatican apartment were made by Bertone himself.

Bertone was the person who contacted his firm about the renovations, Bandera said.

Both Bertone and Bandera have been called to give evidence at the trial, which is investigating Giuseppe Profiti and Massimo Spina's misappropriation of US$500,000 from the Bambino de Jesu Children's Hospital. They used the money to fund the renovation work on Bertone's apartment.

Until their arrest, Profiti and Spina were senior officials at the hospital, which is sponsored by the Pope.

Part of the indictment is that Profiti and Spina diverted the money to help Bandera (who has not been charged in the case) because his companies were struggling financially.

Bandera told the tribunal the cardinal made the arrangements with him directly via a series of emails, without going through a bid process as would ordinarily be required.

He explained he and the cardinal had known each other since 1991 or 1992 when Bertone was the bishop of Vercelli in northern Italy.

Bandera also said he volunteered to build a discount into the costs.

He said the cardinal wanted a "very normal residence, with average accommodation" - although his private salon "is a bit larger than normal."

On 22 September the judges heard from an official of the Government of the Vatican City State which normally handles construction projects on Vatican territory. They said personal involvement by a cardinal in selecting a firm was "anomalous."

Bertone (who was Pope emeritus Benedict XVI's Secretary of State) has not been charged with any criminal activity. Nor has he ever been considered a suspect in this case.

At the request of defence lawyers, the Vatican tribunal has agreed to require testimony from two officials who had sought to avoid appearances: Mariella Enoc, the current head of the hospital foundation; and Tommasso Di Ruzza, the director of the Vatican's Financial Information Authority.

Source

• Catholic Culture
• Crux
• Image: chiesadicagliari.it

Giuseppe Profiti and the former treasurer of Bambino Gesu pediatric hospital have been charged with embezzlement and are on trial in the Vatican's criminal court.

They are accused of diverting 422,000 euros from the hospital foundation to renovate Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone's apartment. (Bertone was the Vatican Secretary of State from 2006 to 2013.)

Profiti is defending the use of funds to renovate the apartment, saying that doing so would have brought new donations. The cardinal could host intimate dinners half a dozen times a year for eight to ten wealthy potential donors at a time.

He said he expected fundraisers would have more than repaid the investment within four to five years.

"The more restricted the numbers, the more money raised since there is an element of exclusivity," Profiti told the court on Tuesday.

Apparently no fundraisers were ever held.

Bertone, who is not under investigation, had approved the concept but "the idea was mine alone," Profiti said.

He acknowledged that financial controls surrounding the spending had been lax. He could not recall if any contracts had been drawn up.

The work was carried out shortly after Bertone had stepped down as the Vatican's Secretary of State.

It has been widely suggested in the Italian media as reflecting Bertone's desire to retire in maximum comfort and elegance.

Source

• The Local
• US News
• Image: Crux

The court is currently hearing conflicting reports about Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone's role in the fraud investigation. Bertone is the former Secretary of State under Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Read more

This is the first time the Vatican has publically announced a prosecution using measures introduced in 2009 to fight money-laundering and financial crime.

The two accused, Giuseppe Profiti and Massimo Spina, are said to have diverted 422,000 euros (about NZ$660,000) from the hospital's fundraising foundation to pay for renovations on Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone's apartment.

It is said the money transfers from the hospital (often called 'the pope's hospital') began in 2013 after Bertone retired from office as Vatican secretary of state.

Profiti has admitted to transferring the money. He says it was an investment so the foundation could use the apartment for fundraising events.

Profiti and Spina's trial is set to begin before a Vatican tribunal this week. They could face prison sentences of three to five years if convicted.

As they are Italian citizens and not clergy, they could dispute the tribunal's jurisdiction.

When the Vatican confirmed last year that Profiti and Spina were under investigation, Bertone's lawyer said the 82-year old cardinal had "never asked for, nor authorized payment for the restoration work from hospital funds".

No charges have been laid against Bertone.

However, he is said to have made a contribution of over NZ$230,000 to the hospital after a book was published in late 2015 detailing how much was spent on his apartment.

Source

• CathNewsUSA
• Reuters
• Crux
• Image:Agenpress