Rome Newsroom, Oct 29, 2020 / 07:00 am
Lawyers for Cardinal Angelo Becciu released a statement late Wednesday contradicting an Italian news report that the former curial official has been summoned by the Vatican in connection with payments to a self-described geopolitical analyst and security consultant.
Becciu's defense attorneys issued the statement in response to an Oct. 28 report by Italian newsweekly L'Espresso, stating that "according to Vatican judicial sources," Becciu is being investigated in connection to a case against Italian Cecilia Marogna, and that he has "not yet presented himself" to Vatican prosecutors for questioning.
"In the interest of His Eminence the Cardinal, the defense attorneys once again reiterate that their client has not received any communication from the competent authority," said lawyers Fabio Viglione and Agostinangelo Marras, in a statement later the same day.
Marogna has been accused of aggravated embezzlement of Vatican funds for payments of more than 500,000 euros she received from the Secretariat of State through her Slovenia-registered company in 2018 and 2019. The accusation is that funds intended for humanitarian purposes were used for personal expenses, including stays at luxury hotels and purchases of designer label handbags.