A member of the European Parliament - ten years ago - was brave to formally question the Vatican before the European Commission, and the subject was not an easy one: money laundering.
The document below was retrieved by the editor of this blog from the European Uninon archives. We see that Mr. Maurizio Turco presents his question in the first part of the document. Then we can examine the answer given by the Commission. In sum, we see that the Vatican Bank does exist. However, it is totally free of any regulations and stays beyond the reach of all international authorities. Unless someone leaks something, we remain wandering...
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:92002E1914:EN:HTML
WRITTEN QUESTION E-1914/02 by Maurizio Turco (NI) to the Commission. The euro: Vatican City State (VCS) and money laundering.
Official Journal 092 E , 17/04/2003 P. 0117 - 0118
WRITTEN
QUESTION E-1914/02
by Maurizio
Turco (NI) to the Commission
(2 July 2002)
Subject: The
euro: Vatican City State (VCS) and money laundering
Aware that:
- Under the
Monetary Agreement between the Italian Republic, on behalf of the European
Union, and the Vatican City State and, on its behalf, the Holy See(1), the
VCS is authorised to issue euros.
- The only
bank operating within the SCV is the central bank, the Istituto
per le Opere di Religione (IOR). [the “central bank” of the Vatican,
not of the Republic of Italy].
- The
Commission is a member of, and Europol has observer status within, the
Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) set up by the OECD.
- During
the 1980s a huge money-laundering operation involving among others the Pope's
delegate in charge of the IOR, the American bishop Paul Marcinkus, was brought
to light.
- In October
2000 an attempt was made to defraud the Sicilian regional authorities of USD
400 million in European funds, which allegedly would then have been laundered
through various banks, including the IOR (Arresting Transnational Crime
an electronic journal of the US Department of State, August 2001, Volume 6,
Number 2).
- On 10 June
1984, the Turks and Caicos Islands were taken out of the Diocese of Nassau
(Bahamas) and proclaimed a Missio Sui Iuris. The same happened to the Cayman
Islands (which formed part of the Diocese of Kingston (Jamaica)) on 14 July
2000. The American cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick was appointed Superior for
the Turks and Caicos on 21 September 2001, while the American cardinal
Adam Maida, member of the IOR Supervisory Board, is Superior for the Cayman
Islands. Both groups of islands are among the world's best-known
offshore financial centres.
Given the
above, would the Commission state:
- whether any
anti-money laundering laws that enable the origin of funds deposited to be
traced are in force in the VCS;
- whether any
checks have been run by international organisations on the VCS's banking,
economic and financial systems and, if so, what conclusions were reached;
- what steps
it intends to take to guard against money laundering by banks located in the
VCS?
(1) OJ C
299, 25.10.2001, p. 1.
Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission
(9 September 2002)
The Vatican City State (VCS) is an independent State and is not a member of
the European Union. Community legislation is not applicable in the VCS.
The
Commission is not aware of any anti-money laundering law in force in the VCS.
However, as noted by the Honourable Member, the only bank operating in the VCS,
the Istituto per le Opere di Religione, is also the Central Bank. Thus, since
there is no commercial financial sector in the VCS, the scope for the
application of normal anti-money laundering rules covering the financial system
would appear to be necessarily limited.
The Commission
is not aware of any examination by international organisations of the VCS's
banking, economic and financial systems.
FOR MORE ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES OF THE VATICAN (THE CATHOLIC CHURCH) MOST PEOPLE DO NOT EVEN DREAM ABOUT, GO BACK TO THE TOP OF THIS PAGE AND, BELOW THE IMAGE THAT OPENS THE BLOG, FIND THE 'SEARCH' FIELD. TYPE IN 'VATICAN'. YOU WILL EVENTUALLY STOP THINKING THE CATHOLIC CHURCH HAS BECOME 'CLEAN' OR THAT IT HAS LOST 'MOST OF ITS POWER' .
