Vatican prosecutors in the Catholic Church’s 2-year-old corruption trial asked on July 26 that Cardinal Angelo Becciu be sentenced to seven years and three months in prison and pay 14 million euros in fines for embezzlement, abuse of office and witness tampering in connection with a real estate deal that lost almost $200 million.
In all, the Vatican’s head prosecutor, Alessandro Diddi, asked that the trial’s 10 defendants serve a cumulative 73 years and one month in prison.
None of the defendants has been found guilty by the Vatican tribunal, which will continue to hear closing arguments this week. The judges have until December to make a ruling on innocence or guilt and issue a sentence.