A former adviser to Pope Francis, Angelo Becciu, has been sentenced to five and a half years in jail for financial crimes.

The Italian Cardinal was convicted by a Vatican court on Saturday, December 16, 2023.

Becciu, 75, was the most senior Vatican official ever to face such charges and was once seen as a papal contender himself.

The trial centered on a London property deal that ended in huge losses for the Catholic Church.

He strongly denied charges, including embezzlement and abuse of office.

Cardinal Becciu’s lawyer said his client was innocent and would lodge an appeal.

He was on trial with nine other defendants. All were convicted on some counts and found not guilty on others. The trial, which exposed infighting and intrigue in the highest Vatican ranks, had been going on for two-and-a-half years.

After an extensive deliberation lasting over five hours, Court President Giuseppe Pignatone declared the conviction of Cardinal Becciu for embezzlement.

The remaining individuals, comprising financiers, lawyers, and former Vatican employees, faced charges ranging from fraud and money laundering to abuse of office and vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

This case, marking the inaugural trial of a Cardinal in a Vatican court, unfolded as a tale of intrigue and skulduggery. It brought to light allegations of financial impropriety at the highest echelons of the Vatican, featuring cloak-and-dagger activities reminiscent of the secretive world of the Holy See.

The focal point of the case was not within the Vatican or Rome but situated a thousand kilometres away in London—60 Sloane Avenue in affluent Chelsea, a former warehouse that once belonged to the renowned department store Harrod’s.

The Vatican City has had a complex history with crime and punishment. Capital punishment was legal in Vatican City before 1970, but it was reserved only for the attempted assassination of the Pope and was never applied.
In 2021, Pope Francis set out a new system that allows people who have been convicted of crimes in Vatican City to have their sentences reduced if they have “behaved in such a way as to presume their repentance and have profitably participated in the treatment and reintegration program”. Essentially, the pope allowed time off for good behaviour.
With the recent financial trials, the once-influential Cardinal Angelo Becciu and nine other people accused of bleeding the holy city of tens of millions of dollars face prison sentences, fines or both if convicted.