Becciu Case: Vatican Publishes Full Verdict in Financial Crimes Trial
Cardinal Becciu was convicted of participating in the illegal misappropriation of $200 million of Vatican funds, invested in a luxury London property.
He tried to block oversight and accountability of his department's finances and to keep what he was doing off the books and offshore. The cover-up was part of the crime.
Becciu's main argument was that he didn't personally benefit from the complicated and ultimately disastrous financial deal.
Therefore, the Vatican court explained the crime of embezzlement. It means that a person instead of using the financial resources at his disposal for the purposes for which they were intended, he uses them for some other purpose.
The judges concluded that Cardinal Becciu's use of Vatican funds benefited the other defendants [up to 15 million euros]. It is therefore "irrelevant that he did not intend to act for personal gain".
The judges also found Becciu guilty of giving money to his self-appointed "security adviser" and private spy, his friend Cecilia Marogna.
Becciu had argued that the payments were authorised by Pope Francis as a ransom for a Colombian nun kidnapped in Mali.
But there were two payments. First, Becciu authorised 575,000 euros to Inkerman, a British agency specialising in kidnapping cases. This led to the nun's release.
However, a similar amount was paid to Marogna's Slovenian company, which was set up on the day of the first payment. Marogna allegedly spent the money on holidays and luxury goods. The amount paid was "in no way related to the aforementioned purposes". Marogna also received around €14,000 in cash.
Secret recordings and private letters between Becciu and Francis show that Francis apparently knew nothing about this Cecilia Marogna.
Finally, Becciu was convicted of diverting church funds to his brother's personal bank account. There is an independent Italian criminal investigation against the brother for embezzling this money.
Cardinal Becciu was obviously not convicted of his brother's alleged crimes. He was found guilty of breaking Vatican financial laws that forbid sending church property to relatives without a special permission from the relevant authority.
In the conviction, which will now be appealed, Becciu was sentenced to five years and six months in prison, fined 8,000 euros and banned from holding public office for life.
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