Vatican Drafts in Swiss Money-Laundering Expert

Gazzetta Del Sud
September 11, 2012

http://www.gazzettadelsud.it/news/english/12351/Vatican-drafts-in-Swiss-money-laundering-expert.html


(ANSA) - Vatican City, September 11 - The Vatican said on Tuesday that it had drafted in a Swiss expert to help it fight money laundering more effectively. The Holy See is trying to join the 'white list' of states that, unlike tax havens, respect international standards on combatting money laundering and the financing of terrorism. In July the Council of Europe's Moneyval department said in a report that the Holy See had made progress on financial transparency, but added that more reforms were needed and gave it positive grades in nine of 16 areas. Holy See spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told Vatican Radio Tuesday that Rene Bruelhart, a 40-year-old lawyer from Fribourg, Switzerland, had been hired to work on Anti-Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) activities and strengthen the Holy See's framework to fight financial crimes. "(The appointment) is based on the clear commitment the Holy See has already expressed in its active efforts to address these matters effectively," Vatican Radio said on its website. Bruelhart spent eight years as the director of Liechtenstein's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). As director of Liechtenstein's FIU, he was also appointed in 2010 as the vice-chair of the Egmont Group, the global network of FIUs. The question of financial transparency in the Vatican is a delicate one. The Holy See denied speculation that the former head of the Vatican Bank, the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), was ousted in May over internal divisions concerning efforts to attain international transparency standards. Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone said relations between Ettore Gotti Tedeschi and the IOR's board members had broken down.