Curiouser and curiouser:
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican and the Australian Catholic Church have both denied knowledge of transfers worth US$1.8 billion which Australia’s financial watchdog says have been sent from Rome to Australia in the past seven years.
“That amount of money and that number of transfers did not leave the Vatican City,” a senior Vatican official with knowledge of the city-state’s finances said on Wednesday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Vatican would be seeking details from Australian authorities on the specific origin and destination of the money.
“It’s not our money because we don’t have that kind of money,” he said. “I am absolutely stunned.”
The figures were made public in December by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) in response to a parliamentary question by Australian Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, and first reported by the newspaper The Australian.
They involved about 47,000 separate transfers, according to AUSTRAC.
Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane told Reuters the Australian Church was not aware of any such transfers: “I can assure you that no diocese or other Church entity saw any of the money.”
Fierravanti-Wells had asked what funds had been transferred to Australia “from the Vatican or any of its entities, or individuals associated with the Vatican or Vatican entities” since 2014.
The official in Rome said the Vatican had around 100 legal entities, including hospitals and the like, “but they don’t have that kind of money”.
AUSTRAC said the transfers ranged from yearly totals of A$71.6 million (US$55.2 million) in 2014 to A$581.3 million (US$448.0) million in 2017.
Go here to read the rest. This has the smell of a large money laundering operation. Why Australia? Was this another reason to try to get rid of Cardinal Pell? Who received the money? Who at the Vatican sent the money? As PopeWatch has noted, sex gets the headlines, but when it comes to corruption at the Vatican, Mammon is usually at the center.
Money laundering via Vatican accounts – wouldn’t surprise me. The dirty Cardinals need to be weeded out. You only need a handful of honest and faithful high-ranking clergy to work in complete secrecy -unlike the good Cardinal Pell who was trying to be open and transparent. They could beat the scum at their own game.
Drug money? The Pope’s homeland Argentina is one of the South American countries that produces cocaine. Just speculation.
AUSTRAC’s making this contention. They should be able to specify who received the money even if the source was spooky numbered accounts (which they somehow know are the Holy See’s). Not paying attention until they make public what they know.
Vatican money for getting Pell out of the way? And this all started a couple of millennium ago when some high priests siphoned off 30 pieces of silver for their particular nefarious deeds….
Agreed Don L.
And it will always be that way until the final curtain call.
Sounds rather as if the Vatican was the spin cycle in this laundering op.
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/030613/secret-finances-vatican-economy.asp
“…the Vatican has not published a budget since 2015 and has been without an in-house auditor for two years.” How convenient.