Pope Francis reportedly authorized the negotiation of an exit strategy for a key figure in the Vatican’s investment in London real estate, and he was so pleased with the result that he paid for a gala dinner at a fancy Roman fish tavern at 15 a.m. Euros, a defendant testified in the Vatican extortion trial on Wednesday. The testimony of Monsignor Mauro Carlino, a former secretary of the Vatican Secretariat, placed the Pope at the center of the trial and raised questions about why low-ranking Vatican officials were accused and their superiors were not – given the decision-making and obedience are exercised in the Holy See. The lawsuit concerns the Vatican’s $ 350 million ($ 390 million) investment in a London real estate business that lost some 217 million euros to the Holy See, much of it donated by the faithful. Vatican prosecutors have accused Italian brokers and Vatican officials of fleeing the Holy See for millions and extorting 15 million from the Holy See to take full ownership of the building. Carlino is accused of blackmail and abuse of power for his role in negotiating the payment to Italian broker Gianluigi Torzi, so that the Vatican can take full ownership of the building. Controversial are the contracts signed between Torzi and another Vatican official in November and December 2018, according to which the Vatican would hold 30,000 shares in the building’s portfolio company and Torzi 1,000. But Torzi’s shares were the only ones with voting rights, that is, he controlled the building. By December 2018, the Vatican realized it had “an empty box,” Carlino testified, and sought to find a way to take full control of the building from Torzi: either by buying Torzi shares or taking legal action against him. for The Vatican is considered a fraudulent agreement. Torzi is accused of extortion, fraud and other financial charges, which he denies. The pope’s legal experts had warned the Vatican that it could lose any lawsuit, given the signed contracts, and were worried that in the meantime Torzi could sell the building and leave the Vatican empty-handed. Francis, informed of the situation and after meeting with Torci, gave his authority to “pay as little as possible to close the matter and turn the page”, Carlino testified. During a 4.5-hour deposition on Wednesday, Carlino said that his boss, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, had asked him in January 2019 to become the mediator in the negotiations with Torzi. But Carlino stressed that he had no decision-making power, no expertise in administrative matters, real estate or finance, and that every decision was made and approved by Pena Parra, who in turn made weekly reports to the pope. Carlino recalled that on the day of his ordination, he had sworn to his bishop that he would give “absolute obedience” to his superiors and that his superior, Pena Parra, had demanded “trust, obedience and secrecy” when he gave him the negotiating portfolio. After five months of talks, the € 15 million payment closed on 2 May 2019 and Pena Parra, Carlino and another member of the Vatican negotiating team, co-accused Fabrizio Tirabassi, had a gala dinner. Location: Le Vele, a restaurant that has a “Royal dish” with raw fish appetizers for 120 euros, and fish dishes between 18-38 euros each. “When Tirabasi went to pay the bill, (Pena Parra) said, ‘This time I pay because it was offered by the Holy Father,’” Carlino testified. Asked by Torzi’s lawyer if the Pope was happy with the outcome of the negotiations with Torzi, Carlino said: “I believe it. The deputy (Pena Parra) said it, that the Holy Father was happy that we could finally close it.” . Carlino said it was only later, months after the deal closed, that the Holy See realized that Torzi had a previous financial relationship with the original broker of the deal. Prosecutors say both men participated in the fraudulent maneuver to get Torzi in control of the building, to the detriment of the Holy See.
