ITALY
7 News
ROME (AFP) – A priest has been arrested on suspicion of fraud and corruption in connection with the sweeping probe of the scandal-plagued Vatican bank, Italian media reported Friday.
Nunzio Scarano, a priest from Salerno, was arrested after an investigation into the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), as the bank is known, unearthed a suspected international fraud scheme, reports said.
Initial reports that had suggested Scarano was a bishop were incorrect, Vatican senior media advisor Greg Burke said.
The priest was suspended from his position as a member of the administration that manages the Vatican’s assets (the APSA) “about a month ago, after his superiors learnt about an investigation into his activities,” Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said.
Scarano was arrested along with a former member of the Italian secret services and a financier for allegedly plotting to illegally move 20 million euros ($26 million) from Switzerland to Italy.
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