CNA Staff, Jan 20, 2021 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- Investigators examining transfers from the Vatican to Australia have been unable to account for around $1.9 million sent between the two countries, local media reported on Wednesday.
Another $5.4 million in Vatican-linked transfers have been identified as being for legitimate expenses, such as travel, wages, and pension payments, The Australian newspaper said on Jan. 20.
Australian authorities have been investigating suspicious transfers from the Vatican to Australia for several months.
Australia’s financial crime watchdog acknowledged earlier in January that it had vastly overestimated the sum of what it said had been 47,000 Vatican transfers.
The Australian newspaper said on Jan. 13 that the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), a government agency, attributed the miscalculation to a “computer coding error.”
After a “detailed review” of its initial finding, AUSTRAC informed
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A leaked letter from Cardinal Pietro Parolin reveals that the Vatican Secretary of State urged the Vatican bank to help provide financing for a controversial real-estate investment in London.
Cardinal Parolin asked Vatican bank for loan to exit troubling London realty deal
Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, said he intended to use the loan to pay off a mortgage on the property that was weighing heavily on the Vatican coffers. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin attends a meeting in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
January 11, 2021
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the second-highest-ranking official at the Vatican, requested a loan two years ago from the Vatican Bank, also referred to as the IOR, or Institute of Religious Works, hoping to buy a high-priced property in London currently at the center of the institution’s financial scandals, calling it “a valid investment,” according to a letter leaked to the Italian newspaper Domani.