Vatican Cleric Acquitted on Corruption Charges Tied to Money Smuggling

By Liam Moloney
Wall Street Journal
January 18, 2016

http://www.wsj.com/articles/vatican-cleric-acquitted-on-corruption-charges-tied-to-money-smuggling-1453140209

A Rome court acquitted a former Vatican official on corruption charges tied to allegations that he had tried to smuggle millions of euros into Italy from Switzerland.

The court found Msgr. Nunzio Scarano innocent of having corrupted public officials as part of an alleged attempt to bring ˆ20 million ($21.8 million) from Switzerland to Italy in a private plane in 2012 on behalf of friends.

Prosecutors alleged that Msgr. Scarano was working with a former member of the Italian Secret Service and a financial broker, but that the plan ultimately fell through because of bickering among the trio. He was accused of having bribed Italian police to smooth the way for transporting the cash. The two other individuals are being tried separately.

The monsignor is an accountant who had been a senior official at the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, or APSA, the Vatican office that manages the Holy See’s large real estate holdings. APSA has come under scrutiny for a lack of transparency in its financial dealings and is one of the targets of reforms to clean up the Holy See’s financial management.