According to the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore of January 28, 2020, the inspectors from Moneyval, the European body for the evaluation of anti-money laundering measures, will be investigating the Holy See’s accounts starting from the end of April 2020, and will report back in December of the same year.
In 2019, the revelation by the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), the “Vatican Bank,” of irregularities in the information concerning the acquisition of a building in London led to the resignation of René Brülhart, then president of the Financial Information Authority (AIF). The Moneyval investigation must clarify the involvement of the various parties in this case.
The Holy See’s cooperation in the work carried out by Moneyval is now regular. The Vatican has also signed the Memorandum of Understanding by which it undertakes to exchange financial information with other countries in order to combat suspicious transactions.
