The summaries of the defense lawyers in the great Vatican corruption trial, in which one of the ten defendants is a cardinal, were concluded this Tuesday (12). Furthermore, the president of the court announced that the verdicts will be announced on Saturday (16).
The trial, which began in July 2021 and lasted 85 sessions, revolves mainly around the purchase of a luxury building in London by the Secretariat of State, the Vatican’s main administrative and diplomatic department.
The Vatican sold the building last year, having suffered a loss estimated at around 140 million euros.
All defendants denied any wrongdoing. The main defendant is Cardinal Angelo Becciu, 75, who was number two in the secretariat at the time of the building’s purchase. He is the highest-ranking Vatican official to face trial.
Becciu is accused of embezzlement, abuse of power and inducing a person to give false testimony.
The others on trial, heard by a panel of three judges, include several Vatican officials and two Italian brokers accused of extortion.
In this Monday’s summary, prosecutor Alessandro Diddi repeated his request for all defendants to be found guilty, which he did for the first time in July, when he requested a prison sentence of seven years and three months for Becciu.
The pope fired Becciu from another top clerical position in 2020 for alleged nepotism. This accusation appeared frequently at trial, and Becciu also denied it.
Source: CNN Brasil
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