Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the key defendant in the Vatican’s landmark financial trial, has again asserted that he is innocent of charges—“none excluded”—as the prosecutor wraps up his case.
Cardinal Becciu charged that his former assistant, Msgr. Alberto Perlasca, should have been charged with financial misconduct in the real-estate transfer that gave rise to the trial. Instead, Msgr. Perlasca was a key witness for the prosecution.
The cardinal also denied that he had derailed a bid by the late Cardinal George Pell for a full independent audit of Vatican accounts on his own initiatives. He said that his actions had the approval of Pope Francis.
A Vatican tribunal is expected to render its verdict on the long-running case before the end of this year.