For god & gold
The Italian Banking Scandal begin in 1974 with the spectacular failure of Franklin National Bank of New York owned by Italian banker Michele Sindona making it of international interest. In successive disclosures, the little-known Vatican Institute of Religious Works, the IOR, commonly called the Vatican Bank becomes implicated in criminal financial wrongdoing. Journalist Emma Nicoletti complicates coverup attempts by alleging knowledge by the Vatican Bank that moving funds internationally for bankers Michele Sindona and Roberto Calvi involves money laundering for the Sicilian Mafia.
The Vatican Bank operating from the sovereign country officially known as the Holy See functions the same as other tax haven banks where transactions and ownership of offshore foreign subsidiary shell companies become protected by strict secrecy. Alleged involvement of the Vatican with the Mafia however elevates the story far beyond mere financial transactions with the prospect for causing catastrophic damage to the spiritual foundation of the two-thousand-year-old religious institution.
The Vatican Bank operating from the sovereign country officially known as the Holy See functions the same as other tax haven banks where transactions and ownership of offshore foreign subsidiary shell companies become protected by strict secrecy. Alleged involvement of the Vatican with the Mafia however elevates the story far beyond mere financial transactions with the prospect for causing catastrophic damage to the spiritual foundation of the two-thousand-year-old religious institution.