Rome, Italy, Sep 23, 2010 / 03:10 am
The "misunderstanding" that led to the investigation of the Vatican's bank "could be clarified simply and quickly" by consulting its internal controls. According to the Vatican's semi-official L'Osservatore Romano (LOR) newspaper, no transfer was made without "strict" compliance with the rules in force in Italy.
On Tuesday, it was announced that the Holy See's Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), its president and director general were under investigation by Italian authorities for possible money laundering. Transfer orders were apparently made through an Italian bank without proper observation of the country's current diclosure laws.
In an editorial published on Thursday, the Vatican newspaper defended the transparency of IOR operations.
LOR reported that since the beginning of the year, the "Vatican Bank" and the Bank of Italy have been working closely to adapt their procedures to stricter new laws, which came into effect in 2007 in Italy. As part of compliance efforts, a new financial information office was formed within the IOR under the leadership of Cardinal Attilio Nicora.