EUROPE
Pope replaces René Brülhart as the president of the Vatican’s Financial Information Authority
René Brülhart, pictured in 2016, has been replaced as president of the Vatican’s Financial Information Authority. PHOTO: FABIO FRUSTACI/ZUMA PRESS
By
Francis X. Rocca
Updated Nov. 18, 2019 12:36 pm ET
ROME— Pope Francis unexpectedly replaced the Vatican’s top financial regulator amid a brewing financial scandal over the Holy See’s investments in London real estate.
The Vatican said Monday that René Brülhart’s mandate as president of its Financial Information Authority, or AIF, had ended but didn’t say why the pope had decided not to renew it. The body’s main functions are to prevent financial crimes at the Vatican and to oversee the cleanup of the Vatican Bank, which has long been plagued by financial scandals.
The Vatican said the pope had chosen a new president but didn’t provide a name. The successor is set to take over next week, after the pope returns from a trip to Asia.
The departure extends a period of turmoil at the Vatican that has harmed the confidence of financial regulators around the world in sharing information with AIF as part of a coordinated crackdown on money laundering, financing of terrorism, tax fraud and other financial crimes.
In October, Vatican police raided the offices of AIF and the Secretariat of State, the Holy See’s executive, as part of an investigation into a large property investment in London.
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A Top Vatican Official Resigns Amid London Real-Estate Scandal (Oct. 14)
The Vatican prosecutor’s investigation came in response to a complaint from the Vatican Bank, which had balked at a request from the Secretariat of State for a loan of more than €100 million ($110 million) to finance the acquisition of a property in London’s upmarket Chelsea neighborhood, according to Vatican officials. The Vatican Bank viewed the deal, which required clearance by AIF, as suspicious.
Since then, the Vatican has suspended five employees—including AIF’s No. 2 official, Tommaso Di Ruzza—and its security chief has resigned in connection with the investigation. It isn’t clear what, if anything, the suspended employees were suspected of doing. Last month, AIF’s board, led by Mr. Brülhart, released a statement expressing “full faith and trust in the professional competence and honorability” of Mr. Di Ruzza.
Mr. Di Ruzza didn’t respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Pope Benedict XVI established AIF in 2010 to steer the Vatican Bank toward compliance with international standards on financial crimes.
Under Mr. Brülhart’s supervision since 2012, the bank has closed thousands of accounts, in some cases because a client’s profile didn’t conform with the bank’s stated mission to serve “works of religion.”
European money-laundering watchdog Moneyval has repeatedly praised the Vatican for its efforts on financial transparency but complained of its failure to prosecute anyone for money laundering. Last December, the Vatican handed down its first conviction for money laundering, sentencing an Italian builder to 2½ years in prison.
Moneyval is scheduled to conduct an on-site evaluation of the Holy See and Vatican City State next year. The Holy See consists of the central administration of the Catholic Church and the papal diplomatic network around the world. Vatican City State is the sovereign territory inside Italy ruled by the pope.
It isn’t clear how Mr. Brülhart’s removal will affect that process, but the turbulence at the top of AIF is likely to concern the evaluators.
The AIF has been viewed by financial watchdogs as one of the bright spots in the Vatican’s efforts overhaul of its finances, and the abrupt departures of its top two officials throw into question the successes of Pope Francis’ reform agenda.
His election in 2013 followed cases of alleged corruption, waste and incompetence at the Vatican and he established several new bodies to control finances early in his pontificate.
But earlier this year, Pope Francis acknowledged the Holy See was facing a yawning budget deficit despite its efforts to bring transparency and stricter accounting to the finances of its various agencies, and ordered officials to stop poorly managed spending and investments.
The pope left the post of Vatican finance chief vacant until last week, when he named a Spanish priest to the role, almost 2½ years after the last chief, Cardinal George Pell, left to face sex-abuse charges in Australia.
The position of the Vatican’s auditor general, whose first and last occupant resigned in 2017 and later accused powerful officials of obstructing him, is still vacant.
Write to Francis X. Rocca at francis.rocca@wsj.com
ROME— Pope Francis unexpectedly replaced the Vatican’s top financial regulator amid a brewing financial scandal over the Holy See’s investments in London real estate.
The Vatican said Monday that René Brülhart’s mandate as president of its Financial Information Authority, or AIF, had ended but didn’t say why the pope had decided not to renew it. The body’s main functions are to prevent financial crimes at the Vatican and to oversee the cleanup of the Vatican Bank, which has long been plagued by financial scandals.
The Vatican said the pope had chosen a new president but didn’t provide a name. The successor is set to take over next week, after the pope returns from a trip to Asia.
The departure extends a period of turmoil at the Vatican that has harmed the confidence of financial regulators around the world in sharing information with AIF as part of a coordinated crackdown on money laundering, financing of terrorism, tax fraud and other financial crimes.
In October, Vatican police raided the offices of AIF and the Secretariat of State, the Holy See’s executive, as part of an investigation into a large property investment in London.
RELATED
A Top Vatican Official Resigns Amid London Real-Estate Scandal (Oct. 14)
The Vatican prosecutor’s investigation came in response to a complaint from the Vatican Bank, which had balked at a request from the Secretariat of State for a loan of more than €100 million ($110 million) to finance the acquisition of a property in London’s upmarket Chelsea neighborhood, according to Vatican officials. The Vatican Bank viewed the deal, which required clearance by AIF, as suspicious.
Since then, the Vatican has suspended five employees—including AIF’s No. 2 official, Tommaso Di Ruzza—and its security chief has resigned in connection with the investigation. It isn’t clear what, if anything, the suspended employees were suspected of doing. Last month, AIF’s board, led by Mr. Brülhart, released a statement expressing “full faith and trust in the professional competence and honorability” of Mr. Di Ruzza.
Mr. Di Ruzza didn’t respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Pope Benedict XVI established AIF in 2010 to steer the Vatican Bank toward compliance with international standards on financial crimes.
Under Mr. Brülhart’s supervision since 2012, the bank has closed thousands of accounts, in some cases because a client’s profile didn’t conform with the bank’s stated mission to serve “works of religion.”
European money-laundering watchdog Moneyval has repeatedly praised the Vatican for its efforts on financial transparency but complained of its failure to prosecute anyone for money laundering. Last December, the Vatican handed down its first conviction for money laundering, sentencing an Italian builder to 2½ years in prison.
Moneyval is scheduled to conduct an on-site evaluation of the Holy See and Vatican City State next year. The Holy See consists of the central administration of the Catholic Church and the papal diplomatic network around the world. Vatican City State is the sovereign territory inside Italy ruled by the pope.
It isn’t clear how Mr. Brülhart’s removal will affect that process, but the turbulence at the top of AIF is likely to concern the evaluators.
The AIF has been viewed by financial watchdogs as one of the bright spots in the Vatican’s efforts overhaul of its finances, and the abrupt departures of its top two officials throw into question the successes of Pope Francis’ reform agenda.
His election in 2013 followed cases of alleged corruption, waste and incompetence at the Vatican and he established several new bodies to control finances early in his pontificate.
But earlier this year, Pope Francis acknowledged the Holy See was facing a yawning budget deficit despite its efforts to bring transparency and stricter accounting to the finances of its various agencies, and ordered officials to stop poorly managed spending and investments.
The pope left the post of Vatican finance chief vacant until last week, when he named a Spanish priest to the role, almost 2½ years after the last chief, Cardinal George Pell, left to face sex-abuse charges in Australia.
The position of the Vatican’s auditor general, whose first and last occupant resigned in 2017 and later accused powerful officials of obstructing him, is still vacant.
Write to Francis X. Rocca at francis.rocca@wsj.com
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