Vatican watchdog reports sharp rise in suspicious transactions

Europe Online Magazine
May 19, 2014

http://en.europeonline-magazine.eu/vatican-watchdog-reports-sharp-rise-in-suspicious-transactions_336412.html

Vatican City (dpa) - The Vatican‘s financial oversight body on Monday said suspicious transactions within the world‘s smallest country had increased dramatically last year.

The Director of the Financial Intelligence Authority (AIF), Rene Bruelhart, said there were 202 cases in 2013, up from 6 in 2012.

Meanwhile, five transactions were reported to Vatican prosecutors, up from two in the previous year.

Presenting an annual report, Bruelhart explained that the increase was due to sharper financial oversight and also to ongoing clean-up processes at the Vatican‘s scandal-prone bank, the Institute for Religious Works (IOR).