(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.