Vatican Bank Sanctioned by JP Morgan

[Lin ASL Ebron]

Vatican Bank faces fresh controversy

Thirty years after it was entangled in a scandal involving the mafia, money laundering and the mysterious death of the man nicknamed "God's banker", the Vatican bank faces fresh controversy.

The bank – formally known as the Institute for Works of Religion or IOR –has suffered the ignominy of having one of its accounts closed by JP Morgan after stone-walling requests for information.

The sanction came less than two weeks after the US State Department listed the Vatican as being potentially vulnerable to money laundering.

A Milan affiliate of JP Morgan said it will shut the account by the end of the month after revealing Vatican bankers had been "unable to respond" to requests for details about payments into the account.

A spokesman for JP Morgan in Milan declined to comment, citing client confidentiality.

The Milan branch had been seeking information since 2010, when the Vatican bank was accused by authorities in Rome of contravening money-laundering regulations.

In an unusual move, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi president of the Vatican bank, was placed under investigation and a judge in Rome ordered a freeze on €23m (£19.5m) held in one of the bank's accounts.

The scandal prompted the Vatican bank to initiate anti-money-laundering legislation, which is currently being debated by the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy.

The Vatican has a chequered history on financial transparency and propriety. Its financial past has included, most notoriously, its involvement in the bankruptcy of Italy's largest private bank, the Banco Ambrosiano, in 1982. Its president, Roberto Calvi, nicknamed "God's Banker", was found hanged beneath London's Blackfriars Bridge, with investigators unable to rule whether he had committed suicide or was murdered.

The Vatican bank was unavailable for comment.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/9153871/Vatican-Bank-faces-fresh-controversy.html

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Wow, the U.S. State Department has listed the Vatican "...as potentially vulnerable to money laundering". To the tune that JP Morgan is threatening to close one of the Vatican's account. In this system, believe what you like but do not mess with their money. Watch out ole girl that beast seems to be getting away from you.

Exciting times we live in.

Agape,

Your Sister

[Rachel]

Yep. Something is definitely going on. Big time.

[Hallett 82]

We heard our CO give a talk last night about how JW ministers compare with Christendoms (lack of) efforts to preach about Gods Kingdom.

He details the Vatican has a special artwork done by an old master worth over $50m . .and a tapestry wall hanging with gold thread worth over $20m.

That is just the tipof the iceberg . . Google Vatican Tapestries in images and look at the halls of valuable art in that place.

The kicker that has us all talking today is that the Italy government has approached the Vatican to ask if some of those treasures can be donated to help Italy out of its financial crisis now . . and the answer was . . NO.

It comes from the Tuesday night, first CO talk outline. We all know about the treasures but I was not aware such a request had been made . . and refused. WOW!