The Vatican’s first financial auditor-general has said he quit after being threatened with arrest for spying on his superiors.
Libero Milone, 69, was appointed two years ago with far reaching authority including powers to audit the books of any department in the Vatican. He came to the job with an impressive track record having worked for Fiat and ran the Italian branch of Deloitte, the global accountancy firm.
In the summer he resigned suddenly without explanation but has now broken his silence to say he was forced out after his investigations uncovered irregularities, an allegation which the Vatican strongly contests.
Speaking to reporters over the weekend, Milone explained that on the morning of 19th June he met with Archbishop Giovanni Becciu, the Holy See’s “sostituto” and one of the Vatican’s most senior officials, who told him he was being dismissed on the basis of a seven-month investigation by Vatican police. Domenico Giani, the Vatican’s police chief, told Reuters news agency there had been “overwhelming evidence” against Milone although did not go into further details.
But the accountant countered to say the evidence presented to him on the 19th was “fake, fabricated” and that he was effectively being pushed out. Milone has not provided any evidence of the irregularities he found in the Vatican finances.
In a strongly worded statement, the Holy See said the former auditor-general had “illegally employed an outside company to carry out investigative activities on the private lives of members of the Holy See” which was not just a crime but had also “irredeemably damaged” the working relationship between the Vatican and its employee, who was paid a salary of €250,000-a-year.
On 27 September 2015, Milone said he suspected that his office computer had been tampered with so he contacted an external company that had done work for him before to check for surveillance devices as there was none in the Vatican to carry out this work. The company discovered that his computer had been the target of unauthorised access, and that his secretary’s computer had been infected with spyware that copied files.
The auditor-general role was set up as part of sweeping financial reforms spearheaded by Australian Cardinal George Pell, who is now on a leave of absence as he fights historic sex offences allegations back in Melbourne.
Milone’s job was meant to give him direct, regular access to the Pope although he claimed that in the months leading up to his resignation this became difficult.
Speaking to media, Archbishop Becciu said that Milone had spied on him personally adding that: “if he had not agreed to resign, we would have prosecuted him.” The archbishop is a trusted aide of the Pope’s who is renowned for his sure-handed administrative skills and intelligent diplomacy.
PICTURE: Swiss guards pass the Vatican bank
Loading ...
