June 1, 2011, 2:32 p.m. EDT

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/italy-court-lifts-seizure-on-vatican-bank-funds-2011-06-01

MILAN -(MarketWatch)- The Holy See Wednesday welcomed the Rome Court's decision to release the EUR23 million seized from the Vatican Bank in 2010 as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering, the spokesman for the Vatican Padre Federico Lombardi said in a statement.

Last year, Rome-based prosecutors placed the bank's chairman, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, and its director general under investigation on suspicion that they failed to comply with Italian laws against money laundering.

Neither man has been charged. Gotti Tedeschi has denied wrongdoing, and said the bank operates with "absolute transparency." The Vatican has denied that its officials acted improperly and said the investigation is the result of a "misunderstanding" between the bank and Italian authorities.

The Vatican Bank has been the financial arm of the Holy See since it was created in 1942 to manage accounts held by priests, cardinals and bishops as well as religious orders.