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	Italy Authorities Lift Block on Vatican Bank Funds Interactive Investor June 1, 2011 http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=reutersnews&articleid=TRE7503AH&feed=Bus&action=article ROME (Reuters) - Italian authorities ordered the release of 23 million euros (33 million pounds) of funds from the Vatican bank that had been frozen as part of an investigation into suspected money laundering, judicial sources said on Wednesday. Last year, Rome magistrates put the two top officials of the bank, formally known as the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), under investigation and froze its funds in two Italian banks over suspicions of money laundering. The decision follows an agreement by the Vatican last year to ensure the bank complied with European anti-money laundering rules in force in Italy. The Vatican, which is an independent state, denied any involvement by the bank in wrongdoing. The IOR mainly manages funds for the Vatican and religious institutions around the world, including charity organisations, religious orders and Catholic hospitals.
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