Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu was sentenced today to five years and six months in prison for a case of financial irregularities, as announced by the Vatican Court, which also sentenced other defendants in this case.
Becciu, 75 years old and the first cardinal tried by a Vatican criminal court, has also been sentenced to “perpetual” disqualification from holding positions in the Holy See, according to the president of the Court, Giuseppe Pignatone, when reading the sentence.
The process investigated in the last two and a half years the purchase of a building in central London orchestrated by the Vatican Secretariat of State when Becciu was his replacement for General Affairs (2011-2018), a speculative operation that created a hole in the accounts of the Holy See of at least 139 million euros.
It was the largest corruption trial in the history of the Holy See, with 10 accused of purchasing properties using donation money.
The trial began in July 2021 in a room in the Vatican Museums, prepared for the occasion. The court was presided over by former Italian anti-mafia judge Giuseppe Pignatone. The case has represented a challenge for Pope Francis, since he revealed the lack of control in Vatican finances, for which he had to initiate an internal reform, and in fact brings to light the dark privileges of several Vatican entities.