
Vatican court convicts former Pope adviser of financial crimes
Gabrielle M. Etzel
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Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, former adviser to Pope Francis, has been sentenced by a Vatican court to five and a half years in jail for financial crimes, making him the most senior Vatican official ever to face such charges.
Becciu was drawn into controversy with nine other defendants in a case surrounding a London-area property deal that resulted in large losses for the Roman Catholic Church.
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In 2014, the Vatican spent over 200 million euros to purchase a 45% stake in a former warehouse building that was intended to be converted into luxury apartments. Four years later, the Vatican decided to buy the property outright, a deal worth an additional 150 million euros signed off by Becciu, equal to $163 million.
Later financial problems with the investment exposed deep corruption and led to eventual charges of embezzlement against Becciu and the other defendants.
The prosecution claimed that Becciu had wrongfully funneled approximately 700,000 euros, or over $763,000, to his home diocese of Sardinia, some of which reportedly benefited his own family.
The trial is seen as indicative of Pope Francis’ efforts to reform the Roman Curia, the opaque Vatican City bureaucracy. In particular, the Vatican bank has undergone a decadeslong cleanup process that started under the former papacy of Benedict XVI.
Critics have argued that Becciu has become a scapegoat in the effort to reshape the Vatican government’s image, which has long been tainted by secretive accounting scandals.
Becciu’s lawyer, Fabio Viglione, maintains his client’s innocence. The other defendants in the case, consisting of financiers, lawyers, and ex-Vatican employees, also denied wrongdoing.
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“We respect the ruling, but we will definitely appeal,” Viglione told reporters after the verdict.
In 2020, the Pope stripped Becciu of his rights as Cardinal, including that of voting in a future conclave to select the successor of the pontificate.