Banksters of the Holy See?
European watchdogs are today due to present a report on the Vatican Bank that assesses whether the Pope's troubled financial institution has cleaned up its act or is still a carriage for money laundering and other questionable transactions.
The preliminary report to the Council of Europe by money-laundering experts is reported to contain serious misgivings about whether the bank has put sufficient precautions in place to end its reputation as a channel for Mafia profits of crime, arms deals and even the financing of terrorism.
The secretive bank, whose official name is the Institute for Works of Religion (its Italian acronym is IOR), has come under scrutiny as Pope Benedict XVI attempts to counter its awful reputation and history by opening it up - somewhat - for inspection.
An impetus for the IOR to get itself on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's "white list" of banks not involved in money laundering or the financing of terrorism was the Vatican's adoption of the euro as its currency in 2000. .............(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Pope+Benedict+tries+purify+scandal+ridden+Vatican+Bank/6881355/story.html#ixzz1zi12g8kF