Police raid Vatican bank boss' home
2012-06-05 19:11
Rome - Italian police raided the home and office of the former head of the
Vatican bank on Tuesday as part of an inquiry into alleged corruption at
aerospace and defence giant Finmeccanica, Italian media reported.
Investigators were trying to determine Ettore Gotti Tedeschi's knowledge of
Finmeccanica operations because of his friendship with the company's current
chief executive Giuseppe Orsi, ANSA news agency said, citing prosecutors.
Gotti Tedeschi is not officially under investigation and neither is the
Vatican bank, which is the subject of a separate money laundering inquiry.
The reports said that police had raided the veteran banker's home in
Piacenza in northern Italy and one of his offices in Milan.
La Repubblica said the raids ordered by the Naples prosecutor's office were
"aimed at clarifying suspected instances of international corruption"
including bribes allegedly paid by Finmeccanica to win international contracts.
Gotti Tedeschi was sacked last month from his post as the head of the Vatican
bank, officially known as the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), following a
clash with the Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone.
Finmeccanica has been hit by a series of corruption investigations since
2010 which forced out its former chief executive Pier Francesco Guarguaglini.
