Angelo Becciu was the first cardinal to be sentenced to prison in the Vatican. Missing boy (11) reappears after six years – he fled on foot through the Pyrenees

In the major financial trial surrounding questionable million-dollar transactions, a cardinal was sentenced to prison by a Vatican court for the first time in the history of the Catholic Church. The Vatican City court on Saturday handed Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu a prison sentence of five years and six months for his involvement in a money-losing real estate scandal. Never before had a Curia cardinal been sentenced to prison by a Vatican court. Becciu’s lawyers announced they would appeal the verdict.

Vatican prosecutor Alessandro Diddi originally demanded a prison sentence of seven years and three months and a large fine against 75-year-old Becciu. Nine other people were charged with him.

The criminal trial is one of the largest to date in the Vatican. For the first time, a high-ranking cardinal appeared in court as a defendant. The trial, which has been going on for more than two years, essentially concerned the loss-making purchase of a luxury property in London’s Chelsea district by the Vatican Secretariat of State, where Becciu was a key department head for many years. The deal went wrong because the Vatican invested more money than planned. Ultimately, there was a loss in the triple-digit million range.

Meanwhile, the investigation into the questionable multimillion-dollar deal in London revealed even more unfair practices and machinations within the Vatican. Vatican law enforcement officials accused the Italian cleric and nine other defendants of extortion, money laundering, fraud, corruption, embezzlement and abuse of office, among other crimes.

The process caused enormous damage to the image of the smallest country in the world. As a result of the accusations, the Sardinian native lost his rights as a cardinal and would therefore not have been allowed to participate in a papal election (conclave). However, Becciu, who was once considered a ‘papàbile’, that is, a possible candidate for the papacy, was allowed to continue calling himself cardinal. At that time, Pope Francis also dismissed him from the position of head of the authority for sainthood and beatification processes.

Pope Francis and the Vatican government drew conclusions from the real estate scandal. The Pope then reorganized the responsibilities in the curia. He stripped the Holy See’s powerful Secretariat of State and other authorities of the power to dispose of assets. This is now the responsibility of the Vatican Real Estate Administration (APSA) and the Vatican Bank IOR. (sda/dpa)