The Vatican Is Now A Money-Laundering Risk, Says US
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The US State Department has officially added the Vatican to its list of money-laundering centres worldwide for the first time ever, said a report by Reuters on Thursday, though an department official stressed that the tiny city-state was not considered as a high-risk country.
The US State Department has officially added the Vatican to its list of money-laundering centres worldwide for the first time ever, said a report by Reuters on Thursday, though an department official stressed that the tiny city-state was not considered as a high-risk country.
According to the 2012 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, the Vatican was among Washington’s list of 190 countries vulnerable to money-laundering activities – with the list broken down further into three categories: of primary concern, of concern and monitored.
The Vatican was placed within the second category of nations – of concern – said an official, as massive amounts of cash flowed into the Vatican from across the world. The official also cited recent anti-money laundering programs set up by the Holy See as evidence of the growing concern of vice activities among Vatican City officials.
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[quote]” With the large volumes of international currency that goes through the Holy See, it is a system that makes it vulnerable as a potential money-laundering centre,” said Susan Pittman of the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.[/quote]Pittman however stressed that, “to be considered a jurisdiction of concern merely indicates that there is a vulnerability to a financial system by money launderers.”
Two months ago, Italian newspapers published leaked internal letters, which appeared to show a conflict among top Vatican officials about just how transparent the Vatican bank should be about dealings that took place before they implemented anti-money laundering measures.
The Vatican Bank was also in the spotlight in 2010, when Italian investigators froze 23 million euros ($33 million) of their funds in Italian banks on allegations of money laundering. But while Vatican officials insisted that they did nothing wrong, investigations are still ongoing today.
The most explosive story to hit the newsstands though came last Friday, when a leaked letter between top Vatican officials, described how an Italian cardinal visiting China had spoken about assassination plot on the Pope.
Although Vatican spokesman, Reverend Federico Lombardi, quickly dismissed that report as “so completely beyond reality and hardly serious,” he acknowledged that Vatican was taking allegations of financial mismanagement extremely seriously.
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Last year, the Vatican adapted internal laws to comply with international standards on financial crime.
The Vatican is also seeking inclusion on the European Commission’s so-called “white list” of states who comply with international standards against tax fraud and money-laundering.
“Our aim is to make the ‘white list’ and we are happy that we have been put in the State Department’s less vulnerable category,” said another Vatican official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
