ITALY
Telegraph (UK)
By Nick Squires, Rome 28 May 2015
A senior Vatican official is under investigation for alleged fraud and embezzlement in relation to the sale of a 14th century castle in Umbria, in the latest scandal to hit the Roman Catholic Church.
Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, who is the head of a Vatican department, is accused of buying the castle in central Italy at an artificially low price with the intention of later selling it at its market value, in an alleged scam that would have netted a profit of nearly €4 million (£2.9 million).
San Girolamo castle, in the town of Narni, was owned by the local council before being sold to the Church.
Council officials are alleged to have colluded with the archbishop, selling the castle four years ago for a knock-down price of €1.76 million – about a third of its true value.
Prosecutors in the nearby city of Terni suspect that the alleged conspirators planned to manage it for a few years, either as an upmarket guesthouse or for religious purposes, and then sell it for €5.6 million.
Archbishop Paglia, 70, who is head of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Family, is alleged to have illegally used diocese funds to purchase the property.
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