Vatican says it was swindled as it reveals assets worth € 4b
The Vatican says it has been ‘‘swindled’’ in some of its investments, including a multimillionpound property deal in London, as it revealed that it holds total assets worth about 4 billion (NZ$7B).
The Holy See took the unusual decision to release yesterday the most detailed breakdown of its finances ever disclosed, including pie charts showing its income, investments and expenses.
‘‘It is possible that in some cases, the Holy See was, apart from being badly advised, also swindled,’’ said Father Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves, the Vatican’s minister for the economy.
The Vatican has been mired in a scandal over the 2014 purchase of a 350 million property in Sloane Avenue in London, in which the building was reportedly bought for far more than its market value, resulting in substantial losses for the Holy See.
Money was allegedly skimmed off by intermediaries and the Vatican is still investigating the purchase.
A powerful cardinal who has been linked to the deal was last week forced to resign over allegations of embezzlement and nepotism, with Pope Francis taking the rare decision to strip him of his rights as a cardinal.
Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who was the head of the department that decides which Catholics should be made saints, has been accused of funnelling money and contracts to companies and charities run by his three brothers – though Becciu has strongly denied any wrongdoing in such dealings.
Compounding his problems, the cardinal’s lawyer was forced to resign yesterday after posting photographs on social media of himself posing on a beach in a pair of skimpy swimming trunks.
Ivano Iai said he was sorry for the embarrassment he had caused with the photos, in which he was draped over rocks and lying on the sand on a beach in Sardinia.
He said it was with ‘‘great sorrow’’ that he had resigned as lawyer for the cardinal and his brothers.