Vatican City, 7 December 2014 (VIS) – The director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., has issued the following statement in response to questions from the press:

 

“I can confirm that the Promoter of Justice of the Vatican City State Tribunal has opened an investigation against two former executives of the IOR for suspected embezzlement of funds in the context of real estate transactions that took place during the period from 2001 to 2008. The investigation has also been extended to a lawyer for involvement in the case.

 

The matter was presented to the Vatican City State judiciary by the IOR authorities as a result of the internal audit carried out last year.

 

The accounts of those concerned in the IOR were frozen as a precautionary measure a few weeks ago.