Italian judiciary suspects the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), known as the Vatican Bank, of involvement in money laundering operations, and the Roman prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation, writes the daily La Repubblica on Tuesday.
The Institute for Religious Works manages the accounts of religious orders and Catholic associations, and since it utilizes the extraterritoriality of the papal state, it does not have to comply with financial regulations in force for Italian institutions. According to La Repubblica, ten Italian banks, including the largest such as Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit, are also under the watchful eye of prosecutors. The judiciary has discovered that the Vatican Bank manages accounts of unnamed Italian institutions, identified only by the designation IOR.
“The investigators’ hypothesis is that entities with their fiscal residence in Italy use IOR as a front to conceal various offenses, such as fraud or tax evasion,” the daily emphasizes. IOR made headlines worldwide in 1981 after the collapse of Banco Ambrosiano, of which it was the main shareholder. Banco Ambrosiano was suspected of laundering mafia money, and a shortfall of $3.5 billion was discovered in its accounts. The Vatican Bank denied legal responsibility for the collapse of Ambrosiano. (www.novilist.hr)
