VATICAN CITY
Huffington Post
ROME, Feb 5 (Reuters) – The Vatican on Tuesday denied an Italian newspaper report linking its IOR bank to Monte dei Paschi di Siena’s 2007 acquisition of smaller rival Antonveneta, a deal which is now the centre of a widening corruption investigation.
The Corriere della Sera reported on Monday that the chief executive of the Vatican’s Institute for Works of Religion (IOR) had “delicate and important meetings” with Monte Paschi’s adviser for the 9-billion euro purchase of Antonveneta.
It also listed several sets of numbers it said identified IOR bank accounts used to transmit funds to Monte Paschi for the acquisition. Prosecutors are looking into allegations that bribes were paid to secure the deal.
The secretive Vatican bank has faced heavy criticism in the past for its lack of transparency and last year Moneyval, a committee backed by the Council of Europe, urged it to take more action against money laundering.
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