A newly uncovered Vatican document has revealed that Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State and bookies’ favourite to be next pope, personally approved a controversial London property deal at the center of a major financial scandal.
The 2018 memorandum, signed and annotated by Parolin, was published on Monday by Italian newspaper Il Tempo, just two days before the start of the conclave. It details the Vatican’s investment in a luxury building on Sloane Avenue—an operation it had previously claimed was unauthorized.
The deal, originally suggested by Credit Suisse, ultimately cost the Vatican €40 million and resulted in a UK court ordering a €4 million legal payment.
The scandal led to the downfall of Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who was recently sentenced to over five years in prison for embezzlement and fraud, though he was found to have gained nothing personally.
This new evidence could reopen Becciu’s case and raises fresh questions about high-level oversight in Vatican finances.
