Vatican: Cardinal sentenced to five and a half years in prison for embezzlement
Becciu, who was once considered a possible candidate for the papacy himself, was removed from office in September 2020 due to the financial scandal and had to give up his cardinal privileges. In addition to the embezzlement of funds in the case of a cleric kidnapped in Mali, the main issue was the Vatican's purchase of a luxury property in London worth 350 million euros.
Becciu always denied all allegations. In November 2022, during the trial, it became public that Becciu secretly recorded a telephone conversation with Francis, presumably to exonerate himself.
In addition to Becciu, nine other defendants had to stand trial. The accusations range from embezzlement and abuse of office to corruption. Public prosecutor Alessandro Diddi had demanded seven years and three months in prison for Becciu and between almost four and 13 years for the other defendants. In addition to his prison sentence, Becciu was fined 8,000 euros.
Read also:
- This will change in December
- German activists speak out in Dubai on suffering in Israel and the Gaza Strip
- Despite UN vote: fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip continues
- Nuclear fusion - hype or solution to energy problems?
Source: www.stern.de
