Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office, gave a brief update to journalists on the investigation by Vatican authorities on the case of Msgr. Nunzio Scarano.
Scarano was arrested by Italian authorities along with a broker and a secret service agent for allegedly attempting to transport 20 million euros on a private jet from Switzerland into Italy. A report by Reuters stated that Msgr. Scarano’s lawyers denied that the money left Switzerland. Vatican authorities are looking into suspicious transactions made by Scarano, who worked as a senior accountant for the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA).
Fr. Lombardi stated that the Vatican Promoter of Justice froze “funds at the Institute for Religious Works (IOR) attributed to suspended Vatican employee Nunzio Scarano as part of an ongoing investigation by the Vatican judicial authorities. The director of the Holy See Press Office went on to say that suspicious transaction reports were filed with the Financial Information Authority (AIF).
The Institute for Religious Works has commissioned an objective review on the circumstances surrounding questionable transactions and pledged to cooperate fully with the investigation carried out by the AIF and Vatican judicial authorities.
