AVaticanappeals tribunal has declared a mistrial in the Holy See's high-profile "trialof the century," delivering a blow toPope Francis's legacy and the prosecutors investigating alleged financial crimes. The decision significantly undermines the pontiff's efforts to reform the Vatican's financial transparency.
In a 16-page ruling, the appeals court determined that both Pope Francis and Vatican prosecutors committed procedural errors, effectively nullifying the originalindictment. This necessitates a fresh start for the proceedings, with a new trial now scheduled to commence on 22 June.
Defence lawyers hailed the ruling as enormously significant, potentially historic, given it represents a Vatican court overturning an act of the Pope himself. This outcome marks a considerable setback for Vatican prosecutors, whose 2023 convictions, including that of Cardinal Angelo Becciu and others, had been presented by Pope Francis as proof of his resolve against financial misconduct within the Holy See.
At the heart of the original case was the Vatican's €350m (£300m approx) investment in a London property. Prosecutors had alleged that brokers and Vatican monsignors defrauded the Holy See of tens of millions of euros in fees and commissions to acquire the asset, subsequently extorting a further €15m (£12.8m approx) to relinquish control of it.
The original investigation spawned two main tangents involving Becciu, once a leading Vatican cardinal and future papal contender. He was convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to 5{ years in prison. The tribunal convicted eight other defendants of embezzlement, abuse of office, fraud and other charges.
They all maintained their innocence and appealed.
During the initial trial, Becciu's lawyers in particular had complained that prosecutors hadn't turned over all the evidence to the defense, violating their right to a fair trial. Prosecutors had redacted some documents, withheld the cellphone records of a keyprosecutionwitness and redacted texts among the players, arguing that such omissions were necessary to protect the secrecy of other investigations.
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Defense lawyers also alleged that four secret decrees Francis signed giving prosecutors wide-ranging powers to investigate violated the defendants' right to a fair trial. They only learned about the decrees just before the trial began, since the decrees were never published.
The appeals court agreed with both defense arguments.
In the ruling, the appeals court ruled that one of Francis' decrees amounted to a law, and that Francis' failure to publish it nullified it. The court also decreed that Vatican prosecutors' failure to turn over to the defense all their evidence nullified their original indictment.
Defense lawyers were pleased by the ruling.
"The historic decision by the Court of Appeals—which, for the first time in Vatican history, ruled that a papal rescript was invalid and void due to failure to publish it—in our view results in the complete nullity of the entire investigation and trial," attorneys Massimo Bassi and Cataldo Intrieri, who represent former Vatican official Fabrizio Tirabassi, said in a statement.
"We are confident that we will be able to reach a swift conclusion to the trial with a largely acquittal verdict."
The tribunal, headed by Archbishop Alejandro Arellano Cedillo, ordered prosecutors to deposit all the documentation, "in their original form," by April 30. It gave the defense until June 15 to prepare their motions before the June 22 start of the new trial.