Vatican Bank 'allowed clergy to act as front for Mafia'

[JohnyCanuck]

By Victor Simpson, Associated Press, in Vatican City

Monday, 13 December 2010

The Vatican Bank is under new scrutiny in a case involving money-laundering allegations that led police to seize €23m (£19.25m) in September.

The Vatican calls the seizure of assets a "misunderstanding" and expresses optimism it will be quickly cleared up. But fresh court documents show that prosecutors say the Vatican Bank deliberately flouted anti-laundering laws "with the aim of hiding the ownership, destination and origin of the capital". The documents also reveal investigators' suspicions that clergy may have acted as fronts for corrupt businessmen and Mafia.

The documents pinpoint two transactions that have not been reported: one in 2009 involving the use of a false name, and another in 2010 in which the Vatican Bank withdrew €650,000 from an Italian bank account but ignored bank requests to disclose where the money was headed.

The new allegations of financial impropriety could not come at a worse time for the Vatican, already hit by revelations that it sheltered paedophile priests. The corruption probe has given new hope to Holocaust survivors who tried unsuccessfully to sue in the United States, alleging that Nazi loot was stored in the Vatican Bank.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/vatican-bank-allowed-clergy-to-act-as-front-for-mafia-2158692.html

[pleah]

1. K&R I would love to see the corrupt church go down. n/t

[Ichingcarpenter]

2. God forgives your confesssion my Son: Say 5 Hail Marys

Then give me the envelope and I will deposit it in the bank for your family and Gods
Now go and sin no more....... wink ... wink... nod... nod..

[Poboy]

3. The 'Godfather' movies sure got it right.

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. One of those things we always knew, and were waiting for someone to scoop.