Summary
In a document released by the U.S. Justice Department in January, an email was found that suggested significant changes at the top of the Istituto per le Opere di Ricerca (IOR) in 2012 were more important than the papal resignation of Pope Benedict XVI the following year. The email, dated February 21, 2013, commented on a “change at the helm” of the IOR and mentioned Larry Summers, then Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. The document also detailed former Vatican Bank president Ettore Gotti Tedeschi’s dismissal in May for involvement in an Italian corruption investigation. Gotti Tedeschi faced 47 dossier containing potentially incriminating material against internal enemies in the Vatican and had intercepted phone calls revealing his concerns about being assassinated due to knowledge of Vatican secrets. At the end of 2012, Cardinal election nominated Ernst von Freyberg as IOR’s new president, shortly before Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation. The email raises questions about why Benedict XVI resigned and whether Gotti Tedeschi is still facing blackmail today. The document shows that the IOR is not the Vatican Bank but an entity managing religious works properties and uses Italian and international banks to operate within financial systems post-September 11th 2001, which introduced stricter global anti-money laundering regulations. Before this period, Pope Benedict XVI named Ettore Gotti Tedeschi as president of the IOR on September 23, 2009. The email also highlights how Vatican banks monitored transactions due to their non-compliance with new FATF (Financial Action Task Force) guidelines since 2001.
Key Topics
Vatican City, IOR, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi
