The Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering inspectorate, Moneyval, has ended more than a decade of special measures and inspections over Vatican institutions, upgrading the Holy See to the watchdog’s ordinary process of assessments and evaluation to “regular” status. The move comes after Moneyval offered a broadly positive assessment of financial security progress made at the Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Moneyval’
Vatican says Moneyval inspection was ‘constructive’
Thursday, October 15th, 2020Moneyval, the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering watchdog, concluded its two-week on-site inspection of the Holy See and Vatican City on Tuesday, according to a Vatican statement. Moneyval arrived at the Vatican on Sept. 30 for the next phase of a regular multi-year evaluation of the institution’s compliance with European financial regulations. Meetings with the Read more
Top Vatican bank staff embezzled €50 million
Monday, March 5th, 2018
Accusations of embezzling and laundering €50 million have resulted in a former Vatican bank president and his lawyer being ordered to stand trial. The Vatican says the bank’s former president, Angelo Caloia, is the highest-ranking Holy See financial official to be indicted on such charges. Seventy-eight year-old Coloia, along with his lawyer, 94 year-old Gabriele Liuzzo, Read more
Vatican prosecutor: money laundering investigation needed
Monday, December 11th, 2017
The Vatican prosecutor is being urged to investigate all cases of money laundering and terrorist financing. Moneyval, which is the Council of Europe’s monitoring body, also says the prosecutor should be more “proactive” in other financial crimes. These include corruption, embezzlement and abuse of office. Furthermore, Moneyval says the prosecutor should “actively consider appealing sentences Read more
Vatican hires accounting firm to get books in order
Friday, November 22nd, 2013
The Vatican this week announced it had hired an international accounting firm to audit its finances. The Vatican said that EY, formerly known as Ernst & Young, will “verify and consult” on the economic activity of the Vatican City State administration, which controls the money-making Vatican Museums, post office and tax-free department store. A Reuters Read more
Pope Francis strengthens law against money laundering
Friday, August 9th, 2013
Pope Francis on Thursday intensified the fight against corruption in the Vatican by strengthening the law to counter “money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.” The pope issued a decree expanding the role and the reach of the Vatican’s Financial Intelligence Authority “in response to a recommendation” of Read more
Taking its medicine does the Vatican some good
Tuesday, August 28th, 2012
“Be careful what you wish for,” as the saying goes, “because you will surely get it.” In light of a couple of recent Vatican stories, the corollary also seems to apply: Be careful what you try to avoid, because it might actually be good for you. A stringent European money laundering exam in July and Read more
A Vatican watershed on transparency, and a new tool for reformers
Tuesday, July 24th, 2012
For sure, I’m no Nostradamus. To cite just one example of my failures as a prognosticator, in 1999 I published a biography of then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger containing four reasons why his election as pope was improbable. We’re now, of course, into the eighth year of his reign. A month ago, however, I finally got one Read more
Holy See passes financial transparency audit, but could do better
Friday, July 20th, 2012
After passing a financial transparency audit by European bank inspectors, the Holy See says it is still working towards a robust and sustainable system to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The audit by Moneyval, a department of the Council of Europe, followed a request by the Holy See last year for an Read more