2011-07-08 17:18:34

Vatican seeks to make new watchdog independent


(July 08, 2011) The Vatican moved on Thursday to make its new financial watchdog agency more independent and efficient by relieving its president of his other job running the Holy See's administration. There had been questions about possible conflicts of interests when Cardinal Attilio Nicora was named president of the Vatican's Financial Information Authority earlier this year, given his dual roles. The oversight agency, designed to be fully independent, began work in April to ensure all Vatican financial transactions comply with European Union and international anti-money laundering and anti-terror financing laws. It was created amid an investigation by Rome prosecutors into suspicious financial transactions at the Vatican bank. Vice-director of the Vatican’s press office, Fr. Ciro Benedettini said on Thursday that common sense'' dictated that as chief watchdog of the independent authority, Cardinal Nicora couldn't be responsible for checking compliance of his other office, which administers Vatican personnel and other Holy See assets. The cardinal had himself asked to be relieved of his administration job to focus exclusively on the financial authority, and Pope Benedict XVI agreed, the Vatican said. In May, a Dutch liberal member of the European Parliament, Sophie in 't Veld, formally asked the European Commission to look into whether the Vatican's financial authority can be truly independent given Nicora's jobs and whether there wasn't a conflict of interest.








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