Vatican City, Sep 22, 2010 / 14:04 pm
Responding to allegations of money laundering, the president of the Vatican bank told Vatican analyst Andrea Tornielli that "there's nothing hidden, nor (anything) to hide." The president said the bank hopes to be on the "White list" for banks that conform to international anti-money laundering policies by December.
President Ettore Gotti Tedeschi of the Vatican's Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), or as many call it, the "Vatican Bank," told Andrea Tornielli of the Italian daily "Il Giornale" that he feels "bitterness and humiliation" at the allegations made against him this week. He and the IOR are being investigated by Italian authorities for money laundering to the tune of $30 million.
The authorities seized this quantity after it was deposited by the IOR at the private Italian bank Credito Artigiano SpA, saying that the Vatican institution had not complied with an Italian anti-money laundering law from 2007 that requires the disclosure of information about account holders and beneficiaries.
A Tuesday statement from the Holy See's Secretariat of State responded to the allegations saying that the bank has a "clear desire for full transparency” and expressing confidence that the truth would emerge.