Potentially criminal transactions identified by the Vatican financial watchdog have soared as Pope Francis’ improved scrutiny measures start to pay off.
The number of transactions marked as suspicious rose from six in 2012 to 202 last year, a 33-fold increase. Five were passed for further investigation to judicial authorities. In 2011, just one suspect transaction was reported.
The Vatican’s Financial Information Authority (AIF), which is tasked with preventing the financing of terrorism and money laundering, said that there had been a “massively improved performance in monitoring potential ... wrongdoing”. The Director of the AIF, Rene Bruelhart, said: “It means that the reporting system is starting to work, is working.”
The centuries-old Vatican bank, officially known as the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), has been dogged by scandal. Last year a senior Vatican official nicknamed “Monsignor 500” after his “favourite” bank note was arrested for laundering money through its accounts. Two former directors of the bank are on trial for money-laundering. But in the new report the authority claimed that the IOR had made “substantial progress”.
The authority said that the number of requests for information it had received from foreign authorities had also increased to 28 from just one in 2012. “This increase is also due to international cooperation fostered by a series of bilateral agreements we have concluded,” Mr Bruelhart said.
However, he added that "corrective measures" were needed to ensure the bank continued on the path to financial transparency and compliance with international anti-money laundering standards. "We are not perfect yet. We are not super-good yet. I think we are on the right track … but there is still quite a bit of way" to go, Bruelhart said.
Last year Francis gave the watchdog extra powers and brought in requirements for staff to have professional and financial skills.
Above: The Vatican bank in Rome. Photo: CNS
Loading ...
