The Vatican City State of Dark Money

UNITED STATES
Open Tabernacle (blog)

September 1, 2019

By Betty Clermont

The Vatican City State is an independent country. The head of state is addressed as “Holy Father” and his government is called the Holy See. There is no complete and accurate account of the Vatican’s investments, commercial real estate, bank accounts, currencies and gold because, with few exceptions, the Holy Father wants his wealth to remain hidden.

Two recent reports provide some additional information as to why this is true. The first not only gives us a hint of the Vatican’s massive wealth, but also “money laundering and fraud” are possibly involved. The second informs us that the Vatican’s top financial policeman was accused of money laundering and collusion in the cover-up of a financial crime.

THE VATICAN HAS TWO SWISS BANK ACCOUNTS THAT HOLD “AS MUCH AS €7 BILLION,” as reported by Vatican expert, Edward Pentin, on July 22. These bank accounts are managed by the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See (APSA) which handles the Vatican’s investment portfolio, some commercial real estate and “large amounts of unregistered cash in offshore accounts,” according to Pentin.

“There is a hub of corruption within APSA” related to these two Swiss banks. “Highly irregular transactions were transiting through these banks,” a reliable source told Pentin.

According to the Tax Justice Network, “Switzerland is the global capital of bank secrecy …. Financial secrecy is a key facilitator of financial crime, and illicit financial flows including money laundering, corruption and tax evasion.”

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