VATICAN CITY
Reuters
By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY, June 28 (Reuters) – The Vatican bank, attempting to project a new image of transparency ahead of a decision by EU financial authorities next month, lifted its veil of secrecy on Thursday by allowing journalists to visit the institution for the first time.
The tour came one month after the bank’s president, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, was ousted by the board of the bank, in a move he said was aimed at stopping his efforts to make the bank more transparent. The Vatican said he was just a bad manager.
It also followed allegations by Italian magistrates that the bank may have been involved in money laundering, which the Vatican denies.
“We have nothing to hide,” said Paolo Cipriani, director-general of the bank, officially known as the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR).
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