As Cardinal Becciu Trial Looms, a Major Question: How Much Did Top Vatican Officials Know? by Edward Pentin

VATICAN CITY — One major question about the upcoming Vatican trial regarding a London property deal that incurred massive losses for the Holy See is how much and when did top-level Vatican officials know about the transaction — and whether they, too, will be summoned to the trial.

A 488-page indictment published July 2 summons to trial 10 individuals — the most prominent is Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the former deputy secretary of state. The trial set to begin July 27 follows a two-year investigation into the London property deal.

The others subpoenaed are René Brülhart, former president of AIF, the Vatican’s supervisory and financial information authority; Msgr. Mauro Carlino, former secretary of Cardinal Becciu when he was deputy secretary of state; Enrico Crasso, a financial broker who managed investments for the Secretariat of State for decades; Tommaso Di Ruzza, former director of the AIF; Cecilia Marogna, a woman who received considerable sums from the Secretariat of State for intelligence services; Raffaele Mincione, a financial broker who allegedly made the Secretariat of State underwrite large shares of a fund that owned the London property; Nicola Squillace, a lawyer involved in those negotiations; Fabrizio Tirabassi, a notetaker in the administrative office of the Secretariat of State; and Gianluigi Torzi, a broker hired to help the Holy See exit the fund owned by Mincione. …

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