While the revisor said he was told that Becciu and his successor, Parra, were aware of the financial transactions, he said that he mostly interacted with the Secretariat’s financial official, Fabrizio Tirabassi, and the department’s top deputy Monsignor Alberto Perlasca. “They didn’t strike me as clever and well-versed financiers,” Righini said.
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Tirabassi, who managed the Secretariat’s investments, is charged with corruption, extortion, embezzlement, fraud and abuse of office. During his final interrogation on Wednesday (Sept. 28), Tirabassi was asked by prosecutors about 1.3 million euro deposited in a Swiss Bank under his name. Vatican police also found more than 2 million euro stashed in the official’s apartment in boxes and ancient coins.
Perlasca, who was initially a chief suspect in the London real estate deal, is now a star witness for the prosecutors in the trial. He will be called to testify in court in the coming months, judges said. According to Righini’s testimony, Perlasca told him that “the less is written in the balance sheets, the better.”
On Thursday and Friday, prosecutors and defense lawyers cross-examined witness Roberto Lolato, who worked as an adviser for the prosecution in determining the property value and financial dealings surrounding the London real estate. Before collaborating with Vatican prosecutors, Lolato worked as an adviser of the Vatican’s Revisor General and participated in a commission that studied the funds of the Secretariat of State between 2018 and 2019.
Lolato answered questions surrounding the accuracy of the evaluation of the price of the London real estate, taking into account the significant loan taken out by financier Raffaele Mincione when he purchased the property, as well as any potential earnings. Mincione, whose fund the Vatican invested in, is among the defendants in the trial and has declared his innocence from the accusations of fraud and embezzlement before judges.
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Lawyer Nicola Squillace, charged with fraud, embezzlement and money laundering, also spoke to the judges on Thursday, detailing his role in drafting the 2018 Vatican deal giving Italian entrepreneur Gianluigi Torzi the final say on the property. Torzi is accused of extortion, embezzlement, fraud and money laundering but has refused to testify at the Vatican court.
Squillace’s testimony highlighted the role of other middlemen who have been notably absent from the proceedings. Fund manager Alessandro Noceti, financial consultant Nicola Dal Fabbro, and businessman Giuseppe Milanese have become household names at the trial but are not listed as witnesses or charged with any crime.
Squillace testified that the architect Luciano Capaldo played a key role in drafting the document that handed voting shares of the fund owning the property to Torzi and also confirmed that Torzi essentially managed the London real estate in 2019.
“We can’t wait to ask the architect Capaldo many questions,” said Torzi’s lawyer during the hearing on Friday. Capaldo has been called to testify in court in the coming weeks.
Vatican prosecutors said they intend to present a more complete list of witnesses to the judges, which will likely draw out the already lengthy and complicated trial. It is not known whether Parra and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin will testify in court, given their insider role and knowledge of the deal.
This article originally appeared here.
