Senior cardinal convicted in Vatican corruption trial

investing.com:

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the most senior Catholic Church official ever to stand trial before a Vatican criminal court, was convicted on Saturday of embezzlement and fraud and sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail.

The Italian prelate's lawyer, Fabio Viglione, told reporters in the courtroom he would appeal, saying his client was innocent. Becciu, who lives in the Vatican, was expected to remain free for the time being.

In all, 10 defendants were accused of crimes including fraud, abuse of office and money laundering. All denied wrongdoing.

It took Court President Giuseppe Pignatone 25 minutes to read all the verdicts and sentences.

Becciu, like most of the other defendants, was convicted on some counts and acquitted of others. Only one, Becciu's former secretary, Father Mauro Carlino, was acquitted of all charges.

The trial, which exposed infighting and intrigue in the highest echelons of the Vatican, lasted for 86 sessions over two-and-a-half years.

It revolved mostly around the messy purchase of a building in London by the Secretariat of State, the Vatican's key administrative and diplomatic department.

Becciu, then an archbishop, held the number two position there in 2013 when it began investing in a fund managed by Italian financier Raffaele Mincione, securing about 45% of the building at 60 Sloane Avenue, in an upmarket district of the city.

Mincione was found guilty of embezzlement and money laundering and given the same sentence as Becciu.

IRRESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT

The court said Becciu had been irresponsible and «highly speculative» to invest more than $200 million with Mincione's fund between 2013-2014, noting this was about a third of the holdings of the