The Vatican announced on Wednesday that Pope Benedict XVI is about to issue a decree (“motu proprio”) to fight money laundering on Thursday. The decree contains a number of provisions to respect the agreements signed in 2009 between the Vatican and the European Union, after Italy had opened a judicial inquiry against two leaders of the Vatican’s Institute for Religious Works (IOR) and provided for the seizure of 23 million euros (30 million) that had been deposited in the Credito Artigiano bank.
Thanks to the implementation of new laws and the creation of an “Authority for the Financial Information”, the Vatican may join the list of states that comply with the standards for combating money laundering.
Source: Expreso
