Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Vatican Bank: Money, Mafia & Corruption

The Vatican has introduced new rules to clean up its financial system. The Institute for Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a privately held institute located inside Vatican City run by a professional bank CEO who reports directly to a committee of cardinals, and ultimately to the Pope.

The Vatican Bank is under scrutiny in a case involving money-laundering allegations that led police to seize €23m in September 2010. The financial police seized assets from a Vatican Bank account. Investigators said the Vatican had failed to furnish information on the origin or destination of the funds as required by Italian law.

The bulk of the money, €20 million, was destined for the American JP Morgan bank branch in Frankfurt, Germany, with the remainder going to Banca del Fucino, an Italian bank. There have also been allegations that Nazi money is being held in the Vatican Bank. [1]


(YouTube link)

Slush fund accounts of major US politicians has been identified and seized at Vatican Bank. On January 5th, 2011, it emerged that US establishment-related slush fund accounts had been located in, and seized from, the Vatican Bank in Rome.

The source of funds for these accounts, in almost every instance, was found to be the US Treasury. Beneficiaries of the covert Vatican accounts include: Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, each of the Obama children, Michelle Obama’s mother; all the Bushes and the Clintons, including Chelsea Clinton; Joe Biden, Timothy Geithner, Janet Napolitano; several US Senators, including Mitch McConnell; several US Congressmen, including John Boehner; several US Military Chiefs of Staff, the US Provost Marshal, the US Judge Advocate General, the US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, several US Judges, the Pope, and several cardinals. Big money was found in each of the accounts.[2]

It has been recently announced that the Pope desires to work more closely to the international banking community to promote transparency with its Vatican Bank transactions, and to eradicate illegal activities.

“All power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Lord Acton