Written By George Wayne on 24 September 2010

http://www.internetbits.com/vatican-defends-money-laundering-accusations/53452/

The Vatican defended two bank executives after they were associated with a money-laundering investigation on Tuesday. The executives were Ettori Gotti Tedeschi, the Vatican Bank’s Chairman and Director-general, Paolo Cipriani.

Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesperson, sent a letter to the Financial Times stating that he was very ardent in avoiding “the spread of inaccurate information.” The case was a “misunderstanding” over two suspicious money transfers. The Vatican is fully cooperating with international and Italian authorities.

Italian police seized money from a bank account worth € 23 Million ($30 Million) at the Credito Artgiano bank.

Lombardi stated that Tedeschi had worked hard to “ensure the absolute transparency of the IOR’s activities and its compliance with the norms and procedures which will allow the Holy See to be included in the White List.” White List is an anti-money Laundering organization. He also added that the Holy See reiterates the Vatican’s complete trust to Tedeschi.

A year ago, Tedeschi was proclaimed Chairman after working in Spain’s Banco Santander as Italian head of Operations. He is a member of the Opus Dei, a conservative religious group and often talks about the necessity of morality in financing.

“It’s not difficult to show that applied ethics produces more wealth,” He stated in a July piece of the L’Osservatore Romano, a Vatican newspaper.

Tedeschi informed RAI, a state-run television that he was “mortified and humiliated,” of the probe. The news came in just as he was trying to implement new transparency methods at the bank.