In the Hall of the Vatican Court, on the occasion of the trial for the financial scandal linked to the sale of the Sloane Avenue building, the images of the evening of September 17, 2020 and the following morning burst, an evening in which Cecilia Marogna, the Sardinian manager accused in trial, went to the home of Cardinal Angelo Becciu, also a defendant. In the sequences of the video projected in the Hall, Marogna, trolley in hand, is seen entering the cardinal’s home on the evening of 17 September. The next day, in sequence, the video shows Becciu’s exit, followed by that of the nuns. La Marogna will remain alone in the cardinal’s house. So when the nuns return, Marogna will go out in the early afternoon to pay a thousand euros into her current account. In the sequences, Marogna is seen returning to Becciu’s house with a tray of pastries. Then the final exit by taxi.
In this regard, Commissioner De Santis, during his testimony in the Chamber, overturning the version offered at the time by Cardinal Becciu who had said that Marogna stayed at his home and not in the hotel because he was intimidated by Covid, said that “in there were no restrictions at that time. ” As proof of his version of events, De Santis stressed that “Marogna had stayed in several hotels in those days with money from the Secretariat of State”.
DE SANTIS (GENDARMERIA): “BECCIU WAS NOT SURPRISED TO SEE US” – “I have never heard that Cecilia Marogna should be preserved for a secret activity known only to the Pope”. During the interrogation before the Vatican Court in the context of the financial scandal related to the sale of the London building in Sloane Avenue, the Commissioner of the Gendarmerie Stefano De Santis returned to the meeting which took place on 3 October 2020 at the home of Cardinal Angelo Becciu, among the ten defendants together with the Sardinian manager Cecilia Marogna. The prosecutor Alessandro Diddi, in particular, returned to the alleged confidentiality pact of the meeting that Becciu had spoken about yesterday. De Santis specified: “Gauzzi (the head of the Gendarmerie, ed.) Received a text message from the cardinal. He asked me to accompany him. When we arrived I realized that Becciu was not surprised. The meeting for me was requested by the cardinal. It is not true. the circumstance of the secrecy of the meeting. It would have been difficult if the Vatican had not leaked in a short time “such a circumstance. “Never – said De Santis – I felt that the Marogna should be preserved for secret activities known only to the Pope”.
During the testimony of De Santis, the lawyer of Cardinal Becciu, Fabio Viglione, also intervened, saying to President Pignatone: “We want the truth”. To which Pignatone replied: “The procedural truth because the truth with the V does not concern us”. Prosecutor Diddi then asked De Santis if in the meeting on 3 October they were the ones who introduced the Marogna’s speech with the cardinal or vice versa. De Santis said: “We based on the chats.” According to the commissioner, in fact, Becciu was “already informed, through Mons. Perlasca, that the money of the secretariat of state had been plundered by the Marogna. Becciu was just amazed that the name of Marogna emerged”. The commissioner of the Gendarmerie was also asked if Marogna had roles in intelligence: “No, I don’t know”. De Santis also said that “on behalf of Becciu we have dealt with kidnapping activities”.
“BECCIU DID NOT UNDERSTAND SPES INVESTIGATION, FOR HIM IT WAS DOING GOOD” – Cardinal Angelo Becciu “did not understand the provision of the Holy Father and the initiative of the magistrates who were investigating the Spes. For him it was doing good towards a cooperative that in Sardinia does good “. This was stated by Stefano De Santis, commissioner of the Vatican Gendarmerie, during the second part of the interrogation in the hearing of the trial born of the London palace affair which sees among the accused the former deputy of the Secretariat of State in relation to the Sardinian cooperative which received funds from the Secretariat of State.
“For him – added De Santis, answering the questions of the promoter of justice Alessandro Diddi – it was a normal activity: he had the availability of those funds and used those funds towards a cooperative that did good”.
“IN AUDIO HOTEL BULGARI EXTORTION TORZI” – The audio recording of the conversation between Enrico Crasso, Fabrizio Tirabassi and Gianluigi Torzi at the Bulgari hotel in Milan represented a turning point in the Vatican investigations set in motion by the investigation into the London palace. This was explained by Stefano De Santis, commissioner of the Vatican Gendarmerie, during the second part of the interrogation by the prosecutor of the Vatican court.
The audio was recorded by Crassus, a former Vatican finance manager, accused in the trial with the former administrative official of the Secretariat of State Tirabassi and the rider Torzi. “We are provided with an audio of investigative interest recorded by Crasso at the Bulgari hotel in Milan of a conversation between Crasso himself, Tirabassi and Gianluigi Torzi which allows us to understand the conduct of Torzi and that of Crasso and Tirabassi”, underlined De Santis, explaining that it is precisely in the recording that one can hear the 15 million extortion “materialize” that according to the Vatican investigators Torzi would have scored.
“Even today – added the number two of the Gendarmerie – we do not understand why the Secretariat of State had to triangulate the operation with Mincione through Torzi to become the owner and be able to manage the property”.
BECCIU PRESENT IN THE CLASSROOM. THE DEFENDERS: “CARDINAL DECLARATIONS CONFIRMED IN HEARING” – “We express satisfaction with today’s hearing, during which all the declarations offered to the Court by the Cardinal during his interrogation were confirmed, and in particular that the investments of the Secretariat of State were approved after identification, investigation and proposal of the Administrative Office and the Head of Office, Mons. Perlasca; that the Cardinal never decided in deviation from the technical opinion of the Offices. It also emerged that when he arrived at the Secretariat, the Cardinal did not change the employees : those who were already working, remained in their posts; and so also for external financial consultants “. Thus in a note the lawyers Fabio Viglione and Maria Concetta Marzo, defenders of Cardinal Angelo Becciu in the trial underway in the Vatican.
“As for the liberation operation, it emerged that part of the payments were made by his successor, Mons. Pena Parra, and a message was read confirming the full legitimacy of the operation, authorized directly by the Holy Father”, they add .
As for Spes, the defense of Becciu underlines, “it emerged that the investigators did not consider listening to the Bishops of Ozieri on the liberal donations received. However, their declarations, collected almost two years ago by the defense, are already in the documents. confirm the requests and the correct use of the funds received. We really fail to understand how, even in the face of this full recognition, even publicly manifested, any irregularity on the point attributable to the Cardinal can still be sustained. Once again, full correctness is reaffirmed. of the behavior of Cardinal Becciu, who, not without suffering but with the utmost respect for the Tribunal, even today, as usual, participated in the audience “.
Source-www.adnkronos.com