It says Becciu tried to "heavily deflect" the inquiry into Vatican investments, including the London building, and tried to discredit the investigating magistrates via the Italian media.īecciu continued to have influence over money transfers at the Secretariat even after he left the post, the document said. About 75 pages of the document are dedicated to Becciu. Torzi was arrested in the Vatican in June 2020, and spent a week in custody.Īccording to the indictment request, Becciu is charged with five counts of embezzlement, two of abuse of office, and one count of inducing a witness to perjury. It turned to Torzi for help in buying up the rest of the building, but later accused him of extortion.Īt the time, Becciu was in the last year of his post as deputy secretary of state for general affairs, a powerful administrative position that handles hundreds of millions of euros.Īll told, the Secretariat of State sank more than 350 million euros into the investment, according to Vatican media, and suffered what Cardinal George Pell, the former Vatican treasurer, told Reuters last year were "enormous losses". The indictment request said Mincione had tried to deceive the Vatican, which in 2018 tried to end the relationship. In 2014, the Secretariat of State invested more than 200 million euros, much of it from contributions from the faithful, in a fund run by Mincione, securing about 45% of a commercial and residential building at 60 Sloane Avenue in London's South Kensington district. The then-president of the AIF, Rene Bruelhart, a 48-year-old Swiss, and AIF's former Italian director, Tommaso Di Ruzza, 46, were charged with abuse of office for allegedly failing to adequately protect the Vatican's interests and giving Torzi what the indictment request called an "undue advantage".ĭi Ruzza was also accused of embezzlement related to alleged inappropriate use of his official credit card, and of divulging confidential information.īruelhart said in a text message that he had "always carried out my functions and duties with correctness" and that "the truth about my innocence will emerge".ĭi Ruzza did not immediately respond to a voicemail requesting comment. 1, 2019, when Vatican police raided the offices of the Secretariat of State, the administrative heart of the Catholic Church, and those of the Vatican's Financial Information Authority (AIF). The investigation into the purchase of the building became public on Oct. There was no immediate response to attempts to reach their lawyers, but both men have consistently denied wrongdoing.įour companies associated with individual defendants, two in Switzerland, one in the United States and one in Slovenia, were also indicted, according to the document. Torzi, for whom Italian magistrates issued an arrest warrant in April, was also charged with extortion. Two Italian brokers, Gianluigi Torzi and Raffaele Mincione, were charged with embezzlement, fraud and money laundering.
He said starting a trial so soon did not give defence lawyers enough time to prepare. An Italian woman who worked for him was charged with embezzlement and the cardinal's former secretary, Father Mauro Carlino, was accused of extortion.īecciu said in a statement that he was a victim of a "machination" and reaffirmed his "absolute innocence".Ĭarlino's lawyer said his client was innocent, had been "acting under orders", and had saved the Vatican millions of euros. The charges against Becciu include embezzlement and abuse of office. The Vatican announced the indictments in a two-page statement. The pope personally gave the required approval last week for Becciu to be indicted, according to a 487-page indictment request seen by Reuters. Becciu, 73, whom the pope fired from his senior clerical post last year for alleged nepotism, and who has always maintained his innocence during a two-year investigation, becomes the most senior Vatican official to be charged with financial crimes.