Italian executive arrested for fraud after probe triggered by Vatican financial watchdogs

May 25, 2016

An Italian construction-company executive has been placed under house arrest and charged with criminal fraud, as the result of investigations initiated by Vatican financial officials.

Angelo Proietti, whose firm had done major projects for the Vatican and the Italian government, is charged with illegally milking the assets of his company, Edil Ars, which eventually filed for bankrupcty. The investigation leading up to his arrest, conducted cooperatively by Vatican and Italian officials, was triggered by suspicious transactions in Proietti's accounts at the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), the Vatican bank. Those accounts have now been seized by prosecutors.

The criminal charges against Proietti represent another major step in the Vatican's drive to erase concerns about the exploitation of the IOR for financial misconduct. Last December the European banking examiners, Moneyval, had complimented the Vatican on making strides toward effective controls on financial transfers, but had prodded the Vatican to "deliver some real results on the prosecutorial side." 

 

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Further information:

• Vatican criminal investigation launched into alleged fraud (Vatican Radio)
• Holy See Press Office communiqué regarding the bankruptcy of the Italian company Edil Ars (Vatican press office)
• Vatican says Italian arrest shows reform is real (Crux)
• European bank regulators urge Vatican prosecution of money-laundering suspects (CWN, 12/15/15)