ROME
BBC
Gianluigi Nuzzi, author of the book “Merchants in the Temple”, discusses his Vatican exposé. The allegations include using charitable donations to plug financial holes and accepting money from Philip Morris International in exchange for promoting cigarette products. Nuzzi is now on trial for using illicit means to obtain the documents. The Vatican declined to comment on the claims while Philip Morris issued the following statement:
“The allegations concerning Philip Morris in the book wrongly portray what is nothing more than a standard commercial contract related to the sale of duty free tobacco products in the Vatican State Tobacco Store.”
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