ROME
Europe Online Magazine
Rome (dpa) – The Vatican blocked an Italian probe into its scandal-tainted bank, the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), the former HSBC employee who disclosed information on thousands of Swiss bank account holders said Wednesday.
Franco-Italian computer specialist Herve Falciani gained access to confidential data from 2006-2007 and passed it on to French authorities in the hope of exposing tax cheats hiding behind Swiss banking secrecy laws.
“Italian investigations on the IOR were blocked by the Vatican: Switzerland was ready to cooperate, but the Vatican placed its veto,” Falciani said, launching a book in Rome, as quoted by the ANSA news agency.
Over the decades, the IOR has been involved in a long list of financial scandals, allegedly offering a safe haven for the funds of Italian mobsters, politicians and entrepreneurs, going beyond its prime remit of assisting worldwide church operations.
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