Pope’s Vatican cleaning pays off

Suspicious activity and freezing of funds fall significantly.

Financial reforms in the Vatican designed to end decades of scandals are now well-rooted, with the number of suspicious activity reports and freezing of funds falling significantly, a report showed yesterday.

The annual report by the Vatican’s independent Financial Information Authority (AIF) says the regulator is now able to turn more of its attention to vetting the transparency and accountability of donations made by outsiders for institutional and charitable purposes.

“The domestic regulatory framework is comprehensive and in line with the relevant international standards,” said the report. “A robust Anti-Money Laundering and Countering of the Financing of Terrorism system is in place.”

The regulator made a twomonth on-site inspection of the Vatican bank, officially known as the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), on management of assets with charitable purposes. No significant shortcomings were found, it said.

The IOR, which for decades was embroiled in numerous financial scandals, has been overhauled in the past few years and thousands of accounts have been closed.

AIF president Rene Bruelhart said the situation meant more attention could be paid to donations from outside the Vatican.

“It’s an early warning system for the church because non-profit organisations registered in the Vatican and which do work around the world need to know that the money has a legal origin,” Bruelhart, a Swiss lawyer, said.

In 2017, the AIF prompted an investigation that led to the discovery that nearly half a million dollars donated to a Vatican-owned children hospital in Rome had been diverted to renovate a cardinal’s apartment. – Reuters