Exactly what I was thinking while Nancy was going on about Trump’s tweet about China.
Have been hunting for more material on Vatican raid
......For nearly a decade, the Vatican has been trying to clean up its finances by adhering to international anti-money laundering norms and reforming its bank, the Institute for Religious Works, after decades of accusations that it worked as an off-shore tax haven.
Key to the effort has been the creation of the A.I.F., which works as an internal financial watchdog and liaises with financial intelligence units of other countries to share information about suspect transactions.
Last year, a former president of the Vatican Bank went on trial at the Vatican’s criminal tribunal on charges he and his lawyer embezzled $68 million in Vatican real estate sales; the trial is ongoing.
At the same time, though, Vatican prosecutors have been criticized by Council of Europe evaluators for their slow pace in investigating and prosecuting suspect financial transactions that are referred to them. In the spring, the Vatican is scheduled to undergo a regularly scheduled on-site evaluation by the Council of Europe’s Moneyval evaluators to check its progress.