A Vatican criminal court has convicted an Italian cardinal once thought to be a candidate for pope of embezzlement and sentenced him to more than five years in prison in what the Holy See has called the “trial of the century.”
Cardinal Angelo Becciu, 75, was the first cardinal in history to be prosecuted by the Vatican’s criminal court.
The powerful cardinal was acquitted of several other charges, while nine other defendants, including former Vatican employees, financiers and lawyers, received a combination of guilty verdicts and acquittals in a trial that lasted more than two years.
Becciu, a former secretary of state for the Holy See, was forced to resign last year on suspicion of funneling money from the Vatican to companies and charities headed by his brothers.
He also oversaw a multimillion-dollar investment in a $380 million luxury property in London that was at the center of the trial.
Prosecutors accused the defendants of defrauding the Holy See and then extorting 15 million euros from the Vatican to acquire control of the property.
The Vatican lost 100 million euros, about $110 million, in the real estate transaction alone.
A Vatican judge reads the verdict on Saturday in the historic trial of Cardinal Angelo Becciu. VATICAN MEDIA/AFP via Getty Images Judge Giuseppe Pignatone reads the verdict at the conclusion of the Vatican trial against Cardinal Angelo Becciu and nine other defendants on Saturday. via REUTERS Judge Giuseppe Pignatone reads the verdict on Saturday in a Vatican courtroom. Senior Cardinal Angelo Becciu was found guilty of embezzling millions of euros and sentenced to five years and six months in prison. Via REUTERS
A lawyer for Becciu said he would appeal the conviction.
In addition to his sentence of five years and six months, Becciu was fined nearly $9,000, according to reports.
The trial, which began in July 2021, shed light on the Vatican’s finances, which Pope Francis had sought to clean up since taking control of the church in 2013.
Weeks before the trial, Francis gave Vatican courts the power to try cardinals and bishops who were previously tried by courts composed of their peers.
With post cables
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Source: vtt.edu.vn