Cardinal Becciu was sentenced to five and a half years in prison

After two and a half years, the trial over the Vatican’s suspicious real estate dealings ended on Saturday evening with the announcement of the verdict. The judges, headed by Giuseppe Pignatoni, issued a harsh ruling in the case of Cardinal Angelo Becchio, the former second-in-command in the Secretariat of State.

The Cardinal of Sardinia was sentenced to five and a half years in prison and fined 8,000 euros. In addition, he was no longer allowed to hold any public office – any ecclesiastical office – for the rest of his life. The charge was seven years and three months in prison and a fine of 10,000 euros. The defense announced its appeal while he was still in the courtroom. Becciu was the first cardinal to appear before the Vatican court.

The cardinal was one of ten defendants in the Vatican financial scandal trial. Swiss Rene Brulhart was also among the accused. After Pope Benedict XVI. After appointing him as chancellor, Brulhart was subsequently appointed to the papal financial supervision, first as director, and later as president without operational duties. At the end of 2019, he gave up his mandate in the Vatican.

Public Prosecutor Alessandro Didi accused him, among other things, of abusing his position and demanded a prison sentence of three years and eight months and a fine of more than 11,000 euros. The sentence is now more lenient: Brülhart was sentenced on Saturday to a fine of 1,750 euros for failure to behave.

Financial and reputational damages

The trial mainly concerns a complex real estate deal concluded by the Vatican in the Chelsea area of ​​London starting in 2014. By investing in a fund managed by financier Rafael Mincioni, the Vatican acquired a property of more than 120,000 square meters in Sloane Street in two steps – but failed to obtain Corresponding rights to have an opinion.

The three-figure purchase turned out to be a failure; Due to Brexit, the property has lost significant value. The State Secretariat finally obtained the lost voting rights through another financier for another 15 million. In 2020, the Vatican decided to sell the property. Overall, the damage to the Vatican is estimated at up to 189 million euros.

In addition to the financial loss, there was also reputational damage: parts of Peterspfennig also flowed into the business. This is a group held once a year in Catholic churches around the world. The amount of money raised on this day goes to the Holy See in Rome.

Whether, to what extent, and to what extent crimes were committed have been the subject of lengthy court hearings. Negotiations took 86 days for the court to reach its ruling.

Victim of “theory”?

Defense lawyers rejected Didi’s accusations. Among other things, they complained of inadmissible previous convictions. Pope Francis had already recommended that Cardinal Becciu resign from all his positions in 2020 and withdraw all powers associated with the cardinal.

Becciu’s lawyers considered this act and subsequent statements made by the prosecution during the trial as evidence that their client had become a “theoretical” victim. Didi was unable to provide any evidence of a crime. Now the court saw things differently. Becciu was guilty of embezzlement.

What is certain is that the process revealed glaring flaws in the state secretariat. Not only did those responsible lack professionalism – the London deal, for example, was never legally clarified – but they also made other questionable financial decisions.

Becciu is also said to have benefited relatives in Sardinia, and also arranged to pay more than half a million euros to a woman who promised to help free hostages in Mali. According to the prosecution, the money was spent on luxury goods.

Ask for your money

The Vatican and Pope Francis personally supported and encouraged this process. For them, this is part of their effort to restore order to the financial budget and administration of the Holy See. Already in 2020, Francis withdrew authority over property and financial transactions from the Secretariat of State and other administrative units. Since then, only the Vatican Estates Administration and the Vatican Bank IOR have been allowed to invest funds.

However, despite the historical process surrounding the London deal, the small state of Rome is still far from having a culture based on the rule of law as in other countries. The Pope is still the absolute monarch in the Vatican. He is the head of state, the supreme judge and the supreme legislator at the same time and can intervene in relevant procedures and decisions at any time. At the outset of the Sloane Street investigation, he exploited that privilege – much to the horror of the defense attorney.

The announced move to the next court, the Vatican Court of Appeal, is likely to provide further clarification.