Priests working in the Vatican’s finance department were offered massages, luxury holidays and cruises by banks keen for their business, Italian investigators have been told.
The claims were made by Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, a senior Vatican accountant
who was arrested and imprisoned in June on suspicion of trying to smuggle
£17 million (20 million euros) into Italy from Switzerland on a private jet.
The allegations concern priests and lay officials working in the
Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See or Apsa, a Vatican
department which manages the Holy See’s property.
In questioning by prosecutors in Rome, Msgr Scarano was asked why the
department appeared to have frequently changed the banks it dealt with and
whether there were any “advantages” for its managers in doing so.
“Many, many advantages – holidays, cruises, staying in five-star hotels,
massages, etcetera,” said the priest, according to leaked transcripts of the
questioning, which took place in July but has only now come to light.
Banks saw the finance department as a “good client” and regarded relations
with the Vatican as prestigious, said the priest, who earned the nickname
“Monsignor 500” for his habit of flashing a wallet full of crisp 500 euro
notes.
Prosecutors are wary of the claims and believe they made be part of an attempt
by Msgr Scarano to smear his colleagues as a way of presenting himself as a
crusader against corruption within the department.
The department is connected with the Vatican bank, which is undergoing a radical overhaul in a bid to introduce greater transparency after years of scandals and suspicions of money laundering and other financial malpractice.
As part of the push for more accountability, the bank, formally known as the Institute for Religious Works, this week published its accounts for the first time in its history.
Msgr Scarano was arrested at the end of June, along with two alleged accomplices – Giovanni Maria Zito, a former member of the Italian secret service, and Giovanni Carenzio, a finance broker.
The priest, who is in detention in Rome, has claimed that the attempt to bring the 20 million euros in cash into Italy was a favour to a Neapolitan family of ship owners, the D’Amicos.
He has insisted that he did not act for personal gain.
The department is connected with the Vatican bank, which is undergoing a radical overhaul in a bid to introduce greater transparency after years of scandals and suspicions of money laundering and other financial malpractice.
As part of the push for more accountability, the bank, formally known as the Institute for Religious Works, this week published its accounts for the first time in its history.
Msgr Scarano was arrested at the end of June, along with two alleged accomplices – Giovanni Maria Zito, a former member of the Italian secret service, and Giovanni Carenzio, a finance broker.
The priest, who is in detention in Rome, has claimed that the attempt to bring the 20 million euros in cash into Italy was a favour to a Neapolitan family of ship owners, the D’Amicos.
He has insisted that he did not act for personal gain.
