The ‘test of the century’ begins for the Vatican fraud

(CNN) – Many call it the “judgment of the century” Vatican, Holy See Court opens a proceedings against the Italian cardinal on Tuesday Angelo Pc, The pope’s commander and nine others have been charged with fraud and embezzlement, mainly for participating in a $ 400 million property deal in London.

Vatican lawyers have cited the deal as an example of a “rotten plunder and profiteering system” under Pecky’s leadership.

From the outset, PCU has confirmed his innocence, as have most of the other defendants.

He was the first cardinal to be charged and tried in the Vatican Criminal Court, as well as the first cardinal to be prosecuted by non-clerical people. Pope Francis recently implemented a reform that would remove the cardinals from the privilege of being tried exclusively by other cardinals.

The lawsuit was probably funded by a lawsuit filed by a group of defendants alleging that some of the money used to fund London’s immigration had been embezzled from the annual collection of so-called “St. Peter’s beggars” around the world. Ordinary Catholics are a way of supporting papal charities.

The first phase of the treaty began in 2014, when Peggy was still an alternative or “alternative” at the Vatican State Secretariat, replacing him as pope’s head. In 2018 he removed Francis Becky from that post and then removed him from his post at the Vatican, stripping him of key privileges.

Prosecutors filed charges in the 500-page indictment, which was visited by CNN, backed by more than 20,000 pages of exhibitions. In essence, the purchase of a former warehouse belonging to the Harrott department store chain in the London metropolis of Chelsea was originally planned as luxury apartments for profit, designed by a network of Italian financiers. Allies of the Secretary of State, including Becky, with the intent of levying exorbitant fees on transactions.

Although Francis has been praised for allowing the charges and investigation to continue, Pecchi and his allies have suggested that Pope Francis may have been a victim of the failures of key figures in this organization, which is still close but not implemented. .

One of the many things that has rocked the Vatican in recent months is the London scandal, in which a Maltese-based investment fund managing another portfolio of London assets on behalf of the pope used the proceeds to invest in film production, including a biography of Elton John and the latest installment of “Men in Black” rights.

The trial on Tuesday was expected to be largely practical, and the trial is likely to take place in the fall. The trial took place in a larger meeting room owned by the Vatican Museums than the usual courtroom of the Vatican Court to accommodate an unusually large number of defendants, lawyers and visitors.