ROME
Wall Street Journal

By LIAM MOLONEY
Jan. 18, 2016

ROME—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 €20 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…